Philippines: New banana measures in place
Its president, Remigio C. Garcia said that the group is paying particular attention to packing houses, seedling quality and planting procedures.
There are at least 700 members in the group, who are able to collectively ship 150 container vans weekly.
Garcia said this could be increased. "But we can increase that to 200 to 300 container vans easily," he said. The group has as coutnerpart the larger Filipino Banana Growers and Exporters Association, accountable for 80% of total banana exports.
The lack of strict monitoring in small scale banana operations was brought to light recently when China blocked entry of bananas from the Philippines after pests were found in shipments.
One of the measures that China has now demanded from the Philippines is a list of legitimate exporters and their packing plants.
Garcia said the Chinese issue has forced the industry into the realisation that it was dangerous to be over dependent on any one market. To this end they are now considering the best route to other, relatively close markets, such as the Middle East.
"[Exporting to these countries] is doable because of the proximity [to the Philippines] as it only takes 21 days in shipping," he said, adding that Pakistan is also interested in doing a deal, although there is nothing substantial to report yet on the talks.
He said that they now need to to agree some shipping rates to ensure that such exports were financially viable.
Source: bworldonline.com
