Carabao mango has a look-alike, taste-alike Thai v

A few years back, there was this popular cooking program on television in Canada which was also aired on local TV. It was "Wok With Yan". In one episode, the host, Mr. Wok specified Manila mango in one of his recipes for demonstration. He was referring, of course, to the pride of the Philippines, the "carabao" mango.

But wait!

While Filipino scientists, agronomists and agribusinessmen were not looking, Thailand developed a look-alike, taste-alike variety of Philippine "carabao" mango in a bid to challenge the country’s dominance in the international market.

The golden, luscious ‘carabao’ mango, long the envy of other Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) fruit exporting countries for its superb sweetness and aroma faintly haunting the taste buds, has now a worthy Thai competitor in the "chocke anan" variety. If the country’s fruit sector does not look out and do something, soon "carabao" mango would just be another fruit in the world market.

For one, the Philippines failed to take advantage of the climate that nurtures the country’s mango variety with a kind of sweetness and taste and smell that is comparable to none. Investments in support of research and development – to expand and make production organized – are too thin to make any impact. Not to be left behind, Malaysia is now enjoying the fruit of its determined research and development work with its presentation of high-quality "haru manis" mango.

As a result, harvests of the fruit remains a backyard industry with production "scattered" all throughout the country. There is no plantation system to speak of for mango, unlike in banana production where large plantations support a thriving export enterprise.

Comes now Thailand’s 350-hectare mango plantation of a number of varieties, 40 percent of which will soon bear fruit. Among the varieties are "chocke anan" touted to be a sweet competitor to the Philippines’ "carabao" mango and "namdock mai."

Fifteen years ago, Thai mango production was only half of the Philippines’. These days, the situation is drastically reversed with Thailand harvesting twice as much mangoes as the Philippines does.

And think about this: Some years back, local horticulturists Dr. Pablito Pamplona and Marisa Garcia of the University of Southern Mindanao reported in a paper on their Philippine Fruit Study Mission to Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore that "it is only a matter of time that Thailand could overtake everybody else in dominating the international export markets."

As far as four years ago, local businessmen and horticulturists saw an expanded import volume not only from Japan but also from other developed countries such as the United States. This is projected to translate this year into almost double that of 1996 import of mango by Japan. In US dollar terms, it is roughly $43.03 million to $60 million.

That export performance of mango to Japan makes mango the hottest gainer in Japan. The other strong performers are papaya ($26.18 million to $33.45 million) and canned pineapple ($52.77 to $60 million).

For most of the ASEAN exporting countries, Japan is consistently the top fruit importer. That market has become more interesting owing to the diversification of its want. Banana is no longer top banana; it is now just another fruit in a crowded market, say industry leaders.

Because of the growing concern for fruits and vegetables and other health foods, consumption pattern in the US, European Union, Middle East and other Asian countries such as South Korea, Singapore, Taiwan and Hong Kong fruit export is steadily rising. – PAJ News & Features