By MARVYN N. BENANING
MANILA, Philippines — The acceptance by China
of at least 30 containers of Philippine bananas has given some relief to small
and big growers in Mindanao.
For the team of Filipino experts led by
director Dr. Clarito Barron of the Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI), it means
redemption for the top fruit export to China, which earned more than $366
million in revenues in that market last year.
The Philippines supplies practically 83
percent of bananas in the Chinese market.
Barron and two experts flew to China on
Sunday upon the instruction of Agriculture Secretary Proceso J. Alcala to
tackle the banana infestation issue with Beijing authorities and the release of
the 30 containers means progress had been made.
Late last week, agriculture assistant
secretary Salvador Salacup announced that China did not ban Philippine bananas
but subjected the same to 100 percent inspection.
The technical director of the Department of
Agriculture (DA) in Region 11, Norlito Agduyeng, also held meetings with small
and big banana growers to strengthen the monitoring of all bananas exported to
China to ensure that they are free from pests.
Agduyeng acted quickly to dispel reports that
Filipino exporters are not working hard enough to ensure that their fruits are
free from insects and diseases considered by China to be invasive.
He said it may be necessary to put bar codes
on bananas packaged for export to determine where the fruits came, the time
they were packed and who shipped them out.
This requirement, Agduyeng stressed, could be
implemented easily for the big growers but assistance may be needed by the
small growers.
Agduyeng said banana growers have also
reduced infestation by the black sigatoka fungus and are working hard to
contain the more serious invasive virus that causes Fusarium wilt, particularly
the deadly Tropical Race 4 strain.
Alcala has also been battling for value
adding for bananas, a fruit that has enjoyed big demand overseas.
Original Article Here
No comments:
Post a Comment