Philippines seeks greater access for pineapples in the US

WASHINGTON – The Philippines is seeking an expanded market access of its pineapples to the US amid an increasing demand for the tropical fruit.

The US Department of Agriculture-Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service said the Philippines recently sent a request for an expanded access to the American market.

“They want to get market access across the US except Hawaii. It may take a little time because there are other things going on, but we already started working on it,” Lisa Kohl, assistant trade director at the US Deparment of Agriculture-Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, said in a  meeting here.

Currently, admissible ports for Philippine pineapple include the Northern Mariana Islands, a US commonwealth in the Pacific Ocean, North Atlantic and Guam.

Only varieties that are at least 50 percent smooth Cayenne by lineage are admissible.

Kohl said it was in the ‘80s when the Philippines gained market access.

Another round of risk assessment would have to be done to determine more scientific information such as the possibility of pest presence.

“We will negotiate and come up with something that works for everyone,” she said.

“A lot of tropical fruits are really popular here in the US and Hawaii cannot supply all the local demand as there is a huge demand for pineapples,” Kohl said.

Other Philippine commodities that have limited access to the US include avocado, mango, rambutan, sugar, carrot, cauliflower, celery, potato and radish.

Agricultural products that have access to all ports in the US are banana, coconut, durian, garlic, ginger, mushroom, onion, shallot, tamarind, turmeric and yam.