Grant sought to boost mango exports

The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is assisting the Department of Agriculture (DA) in securing a $10-million or about a P540-million grant from the US to put up the country’s first mango irradiation facility that would boost the Philippines’ chances of expanding its fresh mango exports to the US.

Trade Secretary Juan B. Santos said the mango irradiation facility is necessary to raise the volume of exports and other tropical fruits and vegetables in the US.

"The facility, if approved by the US, will allow the agriculture sector to conduct its own irradiation treatment on the country’s fruits and vegetables, a phytosanitary measure required by the US in exporting commodities to their ports," said Santos.

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has been pushing for the irradiation technology to replace the widely-accepted international vapor heat treatment (VHT) technology as a condition to accepting bigger volumes of fresh mango from the Philippines.

The DA is currently studying the viability of setting up an expensive irradiation facility since it would mean total retooling and displacement of established VHT facilities nationwide.

This facility however is being opposed by several industry members and non-government organizations such as the Integrated Rural Development Foundation of the Philippines which earlier urged the DA to reconsider plans to put up such a plant in the wake of strong lobbies by consumer groups in the US against consumption of irradiated food products.

Currently, the US accepts only mangoes grown in Guimaras Island in the Visayas, which has been quarantined and declared pulp-weevil free.

"We maybe investing on expensive US-sponsored technology that may not be actually necessary and with no sure market for its output," he said.

Food irradiation is the exposure of food to ionizing radiation intended to eliminate pests and bacteria. The US wanted mangoes in the Philippines to be irradiated before being allowed entry in the US to remove pulp weevil pests usually found in tropical countries.

The US promotes food irradiation under the Food for Peace program which aims to develop civilian application of nuclear technology. US-based companies GrayStar and Surebeam were among those proposing to build the first commercial food irradiation facility in the Philippines.

Jerome Ignacio, IRDF spokesperson noted that consumer groups in the US are now actively campaigning against consumption of irradiated food because of several studies showing that it is unhealthy and harmful.

The DA said it would conduct a nationwide survey that will first determine and document the presence of pulp weevil in mango – is the primary target of the proposed irradiation facility.

No study has been to date and the USDA based their report on possible pulp weevil infestation on a survey in the island province of Palawan which is isolated from major mango-producing areas in the country.

There is no account of any pest introduced in the country for more than 10 years but there are existing pests of economic significance to domestic and international quarantine and these include mango pulp weevil and mango seed weevil.

Mango pulp weevil was first detected in Palawan in the 1980s but the island has since been placed under quarantine.