Avocados
The Philippines has sent to Japan its first shipment of Hass avocados worth around P2 million, thus expanding its access to the lucrative food market.
Agriculture Attaché Maria Alilia Maghirang of the Philippine Agriculture Office in Tokyo said the Philippines was the first in Asia to export Hass avocados to Japan.
“This provides local producers with an excellent opportunity to capitalize on Japan’s growing demand for fresh fruits,” Maghirang said in a statement over the weekend.
Bureau of Plant Industry director Gerald Glenn Panganiban said 2,240 boxes containing 12,320 kilograms of this popular fruit worth $40,320 (or approximately P2.4 million) had been delivered to Japan.
“[The] target next year is to ship 88,000 boxes equivalent to 484,000 kilograms of hass avocados amounting to $1.584 million,” he said.
The Hass avocado, known for its smaller size and pebbly skin that turns purplish-black when ripe, is particularly well-suited to Japanese preferences.
Japan is a major importer of Hass avocados, with imports valued at $160 million last year, equivalent to 61,000 metric tons.
Its key suppliers include Mexico, Peru, Australia, New Zealand and the United States.
The inclusion of this particular fruit to the country’s export portfolio to Japan, which already includes bananas and pineapples, came more than a decade after the government lodged the export request in 2011.
“Securing access to Japan’s highly competitive market for Hass avocados is a significant step forward in our trade relations with Japan,” Panganiban said.
The DA said this development further solidifies the Philippines’ position as a key supplier of high-quality fruits to Japan.
“We are optimistic that this access granted by Japan will lead to opportunities in other international markets for locally-grown Hass avocados,” Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said.