NEW MARKET The Davao region, the country’s main source of durian, has reason to cheer, according to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. as the fruit will be shipped to China starting March . INQUIRER FILES
MANILA, Philippines — Following President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.’s bilateral agreements with China in January 2023, the Philippines has sent out its first batch of durian to the said country, according to the Department of Agriculture (DA) on Saturday.
The Malacañang Palace in February said that durian shipments were expected to start in March, with 7,500 metric tons durian set aside for China.
READ: PH durian coming to China in March – Palace
“The 28-ton durian cargo, which approximately weighs 28,000 kilograms, was sourced from producers and processors in Mindanao, particularly in Region XI, that passed the stringent requirements of the General Administration Customs of China (GACC),” said the DA in a statement.
The DA said that the durian was shipped on Thursday, with another batch exported on Saturday worth 28 tons sent via airfreight and 7.2 tons sent through sea vessel. This totals to 63.2 tons or around 63,200 kilograms of durian exported to China so far.
The DA said that the deal will give local durian industry $260 million or P14.3 billion.
According to the agriculture department, the GACC had released a list of qualified facilities and farms, which included five packaging facilities and 58 durian farms.
“Following the signing of the ‘Protocol of the Phytosanitary Requirements for Export of Fresh Durian from the Philippines to China’ on January 4, the Philippine government, through the Department of Agriculture, has commenced the preparatory measures including the extension of support to durian growers and processors that enabled them to meet the protocol requirements,” said the DA.