Aquino orders DA to help small banana exporters

President Aquino: Help for banana exporters. AFP PHOTO/TED ALJIBE

MANILA, Philippines—President Aquino has ordered the Department of Agriculture to help small players in the banana industry in exporting their produce after China blocked the entry of Philippine banana shipments for allegedly failing quarantine tests.

The President’s deputy spokesperson, Abigail Valte, said on Monday the presidential directive came in the wake of a move of Chinese authorities to reject a proposal for joint inspection with Philippine authorities of newly arrived Philippine Cavendish bananas in China.

Quoting Agriculture Secretary Prospero Alcala, Valte said it was the “prerogative” of the Chinese government to disallow the joint inspection of the Philippine bananas.

She said the government focused its attention on small banana players because big players in the banana industry can meet the international standards when exporting their produce without any difficulty.

“The President has already instructed the Department of Agriculture to provide assistance… to make sure their packaging warehouses and facilities will be up to par,” Valte told reporters.

She said the President wanted the small players to be compliant with international standards when it came to their exports.

Agriculture officials would go to the warehouses of the small players and look at their processes, Valte said.

“The DA, through the Bureau of Plant Industry, will make sure the small players will receive the necessary assistance and guidance on what the standards should be,” she said.

China has allowed the entry of 190 vans containing Philippine bananas two weeks after it stopped their entry because of insects reportedly found in some of the containers.