Pilipino Banana Growers and Exporters Association (PBGEA) executive director Stephen A. Antig is predicting a bad year for the country's banana sector; production is expected to drop in the first quarter of this year following the onslaught of the El Niño phenomenon.
“One of our major worries is the drop in production. It will significantly affect our exports. We are projecting that by April we will feel a significant reduction of about 30 to 40 percent,” he said.
For the whole year of 2015, PBGEA’s total export reached 1.6 million metric tons (MT) or 120.6 million boxes.
He emphasized that aside from drop in production, the effects of El Nino will cause bunches of fresh bananas to weigh less, will make banana fingers smaller and will increase the insect and pest population.
Antig said that compared with the normal 3,700 boxes of fresh bananas per year per hectare; only 2,500 boxes will be produced within the dry spell season.
“Only 10 boxes will be produced per hectare per harvest during El Nino as compared to some 50 to 60 boxes per hectare per year,” Antig said.
On an average, a box of a fresh Cavendish banana weighs 13 kilograms.
Meanwhile, apart from El Nino, the industry is also facing a plethora of problems, including stricter standards for chemicals by some export markets, multinational banana firms in Mindanao expanding to other countries, Panama, Fusarium wilt and other pests and diseases.
Source: sunstar.com.ph
