DA chief: Big banana shipments from Phl have entered China

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines  – Agriculture Secretary Proseso Alcala yesterday said big banana shipments exported from the Philippines have already entered the market in China.

This after the Philippines sent its team of experts to investigate reports that the Chinese were not buying fruit exports from the Philippines even if these were allowed entry into their country.

Alcala, who was here to assess the rubber industry, said the team of experts led by director Clarito Baron of the Bureau of Plant Industry returned to the country yesterday and would be submitting their reports and findings on the causes of the return of banana products to the Philippines.

The agriculture chief said so far, some 190 containers of bananas have entered the Chinese market, debunking claims that China merely allowed the entry of the bananas with no sure market.

Alcala said he would rather believe that the problem of banana importation to China was not due to the ban but because of strict quality control.

He said Chinese authorities have imposed a hundred percent testing of the products from what used to be random inspection and found some irregularities.

The agriculture official said the incident could be a wake up call for banana exporters, whether big or small players, to ensure the quality of their packaging, citing that many big banana plantations were able to penetrate the Chinese market because of their good protocol.

Meanwhile, Alcala said they continue to explore other markets and there are ongoing negotiations in Singapore and the Middle East.

However, the government cannot just ignore the 30 percent China market and it will take time to develop such a huge market elsewhere, he said.