Cotabato farmers eye banana exports

 The Tupi-Balangon Growers Association (Tubaga) tending a total of 311 hectares are awaiting certification from the Organic Certification Center of the Philippines (OCCP) for producing healthful, chemical-free Bongulan bananas that suit the Japanese taste."I think we’ll be able to increase our capacity to meet demand once we’re able to get our certification. It will have bigger demand and higher price. Bongulan is more aromatic than Lakatan, that’s why Japanese like it very much," said Victoria Agustin Motril of the V. Motril Food Products, in an interview at a Techno Gabay summit. The organic banana production is achieved through the use of vermiculture, a type of highly-effective organic fertilizer coming from the manure production of African night crawlers. Bongulan is considered the native variety of the Cavendish. While Cavendish is the one being exported by the Philippines all over the world and accounts largely for the country’s around US$ 400 million yearly banana export, Bongulan is gaining an increasing niche particularly in the processed chips since it gives a more crunchy, thinner, and more tasty bite on the chip compared to the Cardaba or Saba variety. It is native to Tupi, South Cotabato. The Cotabato farmers have already been shipping out 1,200 boxes (13.5 kilos per box) of fresh Bongulan bananas abroad, mainly to Japan, through trader Alter Trade, according to Philippine Council for Agriculture, Forestry, and Natural Resources Research and Development (PCARRD) Coordinator Leonila M. Tolentino. However, their production dipped lately due to the typhoon so that shipment dropped to 800 boxes, and they are presently restoring their farms to bring back the export volume. On top of the fresh banana export, they have started producing chips as farmers wanted to use the fruit 100 percent.