Lapanday explores new markets to attain profit goal

DAVAO CITY – Lapanday Foods Corp. must open new markets or introduce new products to achieve its net income target of $10 million to $15 million this year. Last year, the company recorded a net profit of $7 million.

In the face of a global economic slowdown, Lapanday Foods, a subsidiary of listed firm Lapanday Holdings Corp., saw its net earnings to about $2.5 million in the first five months this year, substantially lower than the $4 million registered in the same period last year.

Nonetheless, Lapanday Foods believes it can catch up by exploring new markets for its fresh fruit and vegetable products and by introducing new products such as asparagus.

The Davao-based food producing and manufacturing firm is exploring the possibility of exporting cavendish bananas and pineapples to Iran, Taiwan, Australia and Canada.

"We have started to export to Iran, which could be a big market. The Taiwan, Australia and the United States markets are still being worked out as we need to pass various quarantine tests," Lapanday Foods senior vice president and plantation and agriculture operations general manager Francisco X. Lorenzo told newsmen over the weekend.

Lorenzo said Canada is a good prospect because it is less stringent in terms of phyto-sanitary requirements involving tropical fruit disease. Lorenzo said the Canadian market offers a big potential for banana and pineapple exports.

"They have a certain latitude wherein tropical fruit disease could not survive, so it is highly viable market for our fresh produce products," he added.

Lapanday Foods is a leader in fresh banana and pineapple exports to Japan, South Korea, China, Hong Kong, Singapore, New Zealand and the Middle East. As of April this year, it had shipped 6,543 metric tons of cavendish bananas.

Japan is the biggest market for Philippine bananas accounting for almost 70 percent of the country’s banana exports and of which Lapanday accounts for more than 20 percent.

Lorenzo said they hope to protect their Asian market while pursuing expansion plans to the Middle East including Turkey which buy a lot of bananas from Central and Latin Americas.

Among Lapanday’s new products are mangoes from Guimaras destined for the Australian market. It made an initial shipment of 550 kilograms in June. Another shipment is being prepared for the Iranian and Canadian markets.

Aside from Cavendish bananas, other brand names marketed by Lapanday Foods are the Estrella, Aloha, Sta. Reyna and Mabuhay. This includes banana varieties like lacatan, señorita, lady fingers and red bananas. It also produces and exports bananas and other vegetables for Del Monte Pacific Ltd.