Banana exporters ask gov’t to improve access to key markets
DAVAO CITY — Banana exporters said the government must help improve access to key markets in the Asia Pacific, adding that the industry’s survival may depend on it.
“The government should act now and help the industry that has contributed a lot to the Philippine economy, or else we can kiss the banana industry goodbye in two to three years,” Philippine Banana Growers and Exporters Association, Inc. ( PBGEA) Executive Director Stephen A. Antig said in an interview.
In a separate interview, PBGEA President Alexander N. Valoria said global oversupply and the ability of other countries to strike advantageous trade deals have been eating into the Philippine market share.
Mr. Valoria said that in 2011, the Philippines exported 237 million boxes, but this has gone down to 187 million in 2016. On the other hand, other Cavendish-exporting countries, particularly Ecuador and Guatemala, have increased their shipments by 139 million boxes.
“The Philippines today has lost significant market share in our own Asian markets such as China, Japan, and South Korea, including the Middle East, where the Philippines is supposed to have proximity advantage,” said Mr. Valoria, the president and chief executive officer of Anflo Management and Investment Corp., the holding firm of Tagum Agricultural Development Company, Inc. (Tadeco), which is considered the country’s biggest banana exporter.