Singapore traders eyeing to buy Mindanao vegetables cancel trip due to clashes

MANILA, Philippines—The bloody fighting between government troops and insurgents in southern Mindanao has scared away potential foreign investors who wanted to buy vegetables and meat in the region.

Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala said a group of Singaporean businessmen were supposed to scout Mindanao for possible suppliers for various agricultural products.

But the news of the violent clashes between the military and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front reached them and they canceled their trip, fearing for their safety.

The latest violence in the region, which saw government air strikes on rebel camps, was sparked by an encounter between the rebels and the military in Basilan last month, where 19 soldiers were killed in the fighting.

“It scared them so it didn’t push through,” Alcala said.

He rued the lost opportunity for agricultural investment, saying it could have brought jobs in the rural areas.

Hostilities between government forces and rebels in the predominantly Muslim region have practically brought development in Mindanao to a standstill.

Of the 14 poorest provinces in the country, eight are in Mindanao, data from the National Statistics Coordination Board showed.

The Singaporeans were supposed to check out several producers and farmers in Mindanao on November 5-8. Although the area where the fighting was concentrated was far from their itinerary, they still decided to scuttle the trip, officials said.

Dante Delima, an agriculture assistant secretary, said the Singaporean importers were planning to buy high-value vegetable crops like celery, cabbage, bell pepper and fruits from the region. They were supposed to visit farmlands in Davao, Bukidnon and Cagayan de Oro.

“They wanted to be just buyers at first and later to invest in production,” he said.

Alcala noted that the scheduled visit of the Singaporeans would have been a great opportunity to sell Mindanao as an agricultural basket.

The region’s land is fertile and it is not often hit by typhoons. It is also nearer to Singapore, making cargo costs less costly than importing vegetables from Luzon.

Recently, Singapore businesses placed orders for semi-temperate vegetables from the Cordillera region and southern Luzon.

Delima said the buyers were eyeing to buy 20 to 50 tons of vegetables from their contract growers in Luzon.

Department of Agriculture officials said they still hoped that the buyers would re-schedule their visit to Mindanao. To make up for the canceled trip, the DA instead sent them samples of the vegetables grown in the region.