Council seeks revival of city’s declining mango industry

CEBU, Philippines — Cebu City’s mango industry, once a global source of pride, is experiencing a steep decline that the City Council now wants to urgently revive.

In a privilege speech last Tuesday, City Councilor Pastor M. Alcover Jr. painted a grim picture of the situation, recalling how mango farming once sustained rural families but has now become so unprofitable that many growers have abandoned orchards and cut down trees for charcoal.

“My 32-year-old mango trees never bore fruit, and many growers have cut theirs down for firewood,” Alcover said, stressing the urgency of government intervention.

The speech was anchored on a September 5 consultation at CREMDEC Hall in Barangay Taptap, where mango growers and stakeholders laid bare their struggles.

Farmers cited pest infestations, lack of technical assistance, poor post-harvest practices, and weak market linkages.

Alcover emphasized that Cebu’s mango growers need more than seasonal aid, adding that they require sustained support in farm rehabilitation, access to inputs, training, and stronger organizations to consolidate production and negotiate with buyers.

He contrasted Cebu’s decline with Guimaras, where government support has sustained a thriving mango industry.

“Here in Cebu, our growers are left behind,” he said.

Other councilors echoed Alcover’s concerns.

Councilor Joel Garganera warned that Cebu risks losing its mango industry entirely, noting that Profood International, the Cebu-founded dried mango giant, has already expanded operations to Cambodia and Vietnam due to supply shortages.

“We were once considered the best mango in the world,” Garganera said.

“But now our industry has collapsed,” Garganera added as he linked the decline of mango farming to broader failures in food security, pointing out that the Philippines, once a hub for rice research, is now the world’s top rice importer.

“If we don’t act, the same fate awaits our mangoes,” Garganera added.

Councilor Harry Eran recalled how Cebu once hosted the first Mango Congress three decades ago, with orchards in Barangay Guba planted to support the industry.

“It is disheartening if those trees we planted were cut down due to lack of support and high costs,” he said.

Councilor Philip Zafra remarked on the need for the government to restore confidence in mango cultivation.

Historically, Cebu’s mango industry was a source of national pride.

Families were sun-drying mango slices as early as the 1950s, and by 1978, Profood International, for one, transformed Cebu dried mangoes into a global export, earning millions of dollars annually.

The privilege speech urged the Cebu City Agriculture Department, led by Agriculturist Joey Baclayon, to submit a detailed report on the state of mango growers, including farm conditions and productivity, and to draft a comprehensive program with clear objectives, funding, and measurable results.

It also called on Mayor Nestor D. Archival to forge partnerships with the Department of Agriculture, Department of Trade and Industry, Department of Science and Technology, academic institutions, and private processors to rebuild the industry.

Councilors stressed that mango farming is not just about fruit; it is about food security, rural livelihoods, and Cebu’s identity.

“We are an agricultural country, yet we are hungry,” Alcover said. — /IHM (FREEMAN)