DTI-Davao to gather banana stakeholders to address banana issues

DAVAO CITY, May 17 – The Department of Trade and Industry in Davao Region (DTI-Davao Region) will convene on May 18 (Friday) the local banana industry stakeholders in the region to discuss the industry’s present situation.

DTI-Davao Regional Director Marizon S. Loreto said the region being the country’s top banana exporter must always be proactive in dealing with issues related to the attainment of the industry’s full economic potential.

Chinese authorities have imposed stringent import regulations on the Cavendish bananas owing to the pest allegedly found in the said export product and as a result, and have demanded for an intensified quarantine procedures while holding a good number of container vans in the major ports of the said country for the past several days.

This situation has severely affected the region’s exports performance and caused substantial losses on the part of the local banana exporters.

“We also gathered that local growers have now excess bananas which they could not send anymore to China. With such volume surplus of Cavendish bananas, there is a need to define courses of action so as to find other opportunities for the local growers and minimize further losses thru domestic consumption advocacy, increasing banana trading with other regions and putting more value-adding to said commodity,” Loreto said. 

Bureau of Customs (BOC) records revealed that in 2011, fresh banana (Cavendish) was the region’s top export product hitting US$786,727,625, a three percent leap from 2010’s US$760,254,837. It can also be noted that China is the second largest export market, following Japan.

“The proposed gathering of local industry stakeholders, namely banana growers, processors, industry sector representatives, government agencies, and local government unit representatives is meant to discuss measures and local interventions to address the banana surplus while alternative export markets are being explored,” Loreto added.    

Loreto said that “as the national government is seriously dealing with the quarantine issues with Chinese authorities and the trade department deliberately identifying more alternative markets, local stakeholders must also do its share by crafting effective and feasible initiatives to address the supply surplus.”

With such dialogue, action plan that will define the immediate steps and necessary interventions to be carried out by appropriate authorities and sectors is expected to be formulated.  (DTI-11/JenMendoza)