Zambales produces sweetest carabao mangoes – experts

IBA, Zambales, Philippines – This province is producing the sweetest carabao mangoes, fruits experts said.

At the recently concluded 15th National Mango Congress annual convention held at the Ramon Magsaysay Technological University convention center here, experts from the University of the Philippines-Los Baños and Bureau of Plant Industry said Zambales has the best carabao mango strain for commercialization.

“Our sweetest mango has brought fame and is the pride of Zambales,” Gov. Hermogenes Ebdane told The STAR.

Ebdane said the festival could open up new avenues of trade for mango cultivators, producers and exporters and create a new market opportunity.

The first-ever mango convention in Zambales, Ebdane said, is a giant step to invigorate the province’s mango industry and develop the full potential of their mango trade.

Zambales mangoes were once listed by the Guinness Book of World Records as the sweetest fruit and one of the best varieties of mango in the world.

Residents take pride in their sweet mango because of its large size – weighing at least an average of 365 grams to 700 grams – sugar content, juicy sweetness, fibrous materials and thickness of its pulp.

To maintain a gene bank of Zambales mango, the Department of Agriculture’s Bureau of Agricultural Research has funded the establishment of scion grove and germplasm production.

The Ninoy Aquino Parks and Wildlife in Quezon City run by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources’ Protected Area and Wildlife Bureau has been growing 1,000 seedlings of Zambales mangoes.