PBGEA executive director Stephen Antig said via text message that alternative markets to China would not come quickly, thus exporters would be hard-pressed to meet its growth target this year of 40 percent.
Antig said that other ready markets for bananas such as Japan are already saturated with Philippine bananas.
“An alternative being proposed by small farmer-exporters is for government to buy bananas originally set to be exported to China and distribute the fruits to the poor. After all, they said, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has a lot of funds. Domestic consumption may not be able to fully make up for the lost exports, however. Or perhaps if there is a way for Iran to pay for our bananas, we can divert some exports from China to Iran, but that is not clear at the moment,” Antig said.
The Department of Agriculture is coordinating with Chinese counterparts to discuss measures to ensure that exports of fruits comply with phytosanitary protocols amid China’s tighter restrictions on Philippine fruit exports.
Meanwhile Mindanao exporters said Friday the number of container vans of bananas that have been held for quarantine inspection by Chinese authorities since March was way over the 150 vans announced by Malacañang.“How did it become 150? At the Shanghai port alone, we have a minimum of 500 container vans being held,” said Analee Javellana, secretary of the Mindanao Federation of Banana Exporters’ Association (MBFEA).
Stephen Antig, president of the larger banana exporters group Filipino Banana Growers and Exporters Association (PBGEA), echoed Javellana.
“I think they (government officials) got the figures wrong,” Antig said. “Definitely not just 150 container vans.”
Antig said some 240 container vans being held in the ports of Dalian, Shanghai and Xingang were to be returned to the Philippines.
Source: business.inquirer.net