DAVAO CITY March 12 (PIA)- A Durian summit which will be held this March 13 to 14 in Davao City will hope to tackle issues that hinder durian production in the region.
According to Larry Miculob president of the Mindanao Fruit Council- durian growers in the country are lagging behind Southeast Asian neighbors in terms of production per hectare.
Miculob said that neighboring countries have an annual yield of 10 tons per hectares year this compared to local production which could only amount to 2 tons per hectare.
He said there is a big market potential for durian overseas and these markets cannot be tap unless there is a problem in the production.
Miculob added that China needs about 800 tons of durian monthly and these cannot be met by local growers.
Also the low prices of durian can be attributed to the grower’s focus on the local market instead of the growing overseas consumers.
He said that they are eyeing at least to double the current production of durian farmers to at least 4 tons per hectare or equal the normal production of their Asian neighbors of about 10 tons per hectare.
Miculob said that the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development (PCAARRD) of the Department of Science and Technology is aiming for a 26 tons per hectare production.
An increase in production will help increase the durian growers’ profit and will take his mind away from shifting to other high-valued fruits like bananas.
Miculob said the Durian Summit to be held in Davao City’s Grand Men Seng Hotel will discuss and impart to growers ways on improving their current durian production particularly disseminating new growing technologies and tackling important concerns which would affect the durian industry.
The Durian Summit is organized by the MFC and the City Agriculturist Office of the local government of Davao City. (PIA/RG Alama)
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