Banana exports are seen to fall 15 percent this year due to lack of supply.
Alberto Bacani, chairman of the Pilipino Banana Growers and Exporters Association Inc. (PBGEA) said cavendish banana exports are estimated to reach $1.65 billion this year from $1.93 billion in 2019. Volume will be 17 percent lower from last year’s 195.5 million boxes to 162.2 million boxes in 2020.
Bacani said growers lost hectarage due to the Panama disease as well as the peace and order situation.
PBGEA said in the first five months of the year, production fell 20 percent to 20 million boxes.
Bacani said lack of irrigation water supply has also been affecting production.
He noted growers should explore other areas in the country that may be planted with banana
“We identified BARMM (Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao) as well as Agusan and Surigao as viable areas left for bananas to expand… I hope that investors will also be more open to come in BARMM. Another way we can increase the hectarage is by recovering areas that were previously abandoned after being affected by fusarium (disease),” Bacani said.
To improve supply, the group reiterated its appeal to the government to help the industry by way of research and development as well as in the form of free trade agreements with other countries to lower the tariff of bananas coming from the Philippines.
Bacani said Latin American countries continue to eat the Philippines’ market share of banana exports to Japan, China and South Korea, countries which used to be almost exclusively supplied by the country
“Because of perishability, we cannot go farther than the Middle East and it is impossible to go to Europe and the United States. Malaysia is being checked because they can pay our prices, Australia has always been a potential market but it is a small market which would only require maybe 10 million boxes annually. Aside from those two, I don’t see any possible new markets in Asia-Pacific,” Bacani said.
According to a report of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, the biggest buyers of bananas from the Philippines as of 2018 is Japan with 1.09 million tons. Japan is followed by China with 1.27 million tons and South Korea with 420,000 tons
The same year, the Philippines was the second largest exporter of bananas, next to Ecuador.
