Ube stakeholders urged to form industry group
MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Agriculture (DA) urged the country’s ube stakeholders to create an industry group that would unify local producers, processors and exporters under a common agenda.
Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. has called for the formalization of a national ube federation to strengthen coordination, amid the surging interest in ube in the international market.
This comes following a consultative meeting last week with growers, processors, exporters, researchers and other stakeholders, to identify possible industry-led strategies to capitalize on the ube boom.
He also ordered the industry to develop a standardized color classification for the root crop, strengthen their marketing campaigns, secure legal protection for the country’s ube and focus investments in production areas.
The agency also seeks to accelerate the production of quality ube planting materials through tissue culture, community-based nurseries and other propagation techniques.
The DA also instructed researchers to haste the naming and evaluation of new varieties, while also continuing to work with the private sector to identify which ube variety will meet commercial requirements.
During the meeting, stakeholders also called for a single identified Philippine ube identity to differentiate locally produced ube from other regional competitors.
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