Philippine mangoes debut in Canada
NEW MARKET The Philippines marked its first commercial shipment of fresh Carabao mangoes to Canada on June 3. —PHOTO FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines made its maiden shipment of fresh Carabao mangoes to Canada, marking another step toward diversifying export markets and expanding the global presence of homegrown agricultural products.
The Department of Agriculture (DA) says Hi-Las Marketing Corp. and Castillo Import Export Ventures Inc. have delivered fresh Philippine mangoes to Ontario-based importer TSI Tropicals Inc.
Local officials commemorated the first commercial shipment of fresh mangoes during a send-off ceremony at the Philippine Airlines cargo terminal in Pasay. The flagship carrier will deliver the mangoes through a commercial air freight program.
The Philippine Agriculture Office in Washington, DC coordinated this transaction with the Philippine Consulate General in Toronto, the Philippine Trade and Investment Center in Toronto and mango industry stakeholders.
“This is another step toward our goal of widening and diversifying the global market for our farm products such as bananas, coconuts and mangoes. It is time for other parts of the world to get a taste of the Philippines,” Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. says.
Global promotion
The country began supplying local mangoes to Canada about a year after the country had marked a historic shipment of 500 kilograms of fresh mangoes to Italy.
The DA says it is “aggressively promoting” a portfolio of high-value crops to boost the local agricultural export sector.
“The government is helping pave the way for the private sector to showcase to the world the products of Philippine farms. This is what happens when a nation works together,” Agriculture Undersecretary Philip Young says.
Agriculture Assistant Secretary Arnel de Mesa says Philippine agriculture attachés are “very aggressive” in promoting locally produced farm goods in the international market, noting their huge export potential, particularly tropical fruits.
“Our tropical fruits have world-class quality. This is also to increase the income of our farmers beyond ordinary commodity. Secretary (Tiu Laurel) is really pushing to increase our export receipts, specifically for agricultural commodities,” says De Mesa, also the DA spokesperson.
“We are exporting, but we still have a lot of room for expansion in other countries,” he adds.
High-value crops
In April, the DA established the Office of High-Value Export Crops and Agri-Fishery Export Development and Promotion Program Management Office, a specialized office for positioning select agricultural products in competitive global markets.
Priority crops include Cavendish bananas, cardaba/saba bananas, cacao, pomelo, rambutan, dalandan, mango, pineapple, okra, asparagus, pili, durian, avocado, dragon fruits, calamansi and ube.
The dedicated DA office is tasked with enhancing the export playbook to promote the priority crops through a more focused and export-oriented approach, given the increasing complexity of international markets and global value chains. INQ
