Latin America snaps up banana opportunity in China

Cavendish bananas are being imported by China from great distances, whilst Philippine bananas are kept at a reduced level by stringent sanitary requirements by the Chinese authorities.

Latin American companies have been stating that they have achieved new sales in China as the country reduces its imports of Filipino bananas.

Whilst it might be expected that exporting over such a distance was not financially viable, the sheer level of demand for bananas in China is enough to ensure that a profit is generated.

Filipino exporters meanwhile lament what they call a lackadaisical response of the government to the problems that they are experiencing right now.

"It seems that the government is not giving importance to the problem. Maybe the government will act when the entire industry is dead," a local exporter, who requested anonymity, said.

The same sentiment is shared by several exporters who suffered after China imposed stringent quarantine measures that would make it impossible for Philippine Cavendish bananas to enter the country.

Communication between the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture and the Philippine’s Department of Agriculture has failed to produce a concrete development since the June 1 imposition of new quarantine measures.

Several billions of pesos have already been lost by small exporters and multinational firms and this will continue unless the issue with China, whether phytosanitary or political, remains unsolved.

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