The Department of Agriculture through the Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) and its National Plant Quarantine Services Division (NPQSD) said that the country has finally gained access to the South Korean avocado market.
The agency said the maiden shipment of hass avocados which will likely reach 13 metric tons (MT) is expected before the end of September and will come from BPI accredited facilities in Davao, Bukidnon and South Cotabato.
BPI said the agreement with South Korea was first approved in June but finalized and came to effect last Friday.
The agency said it is also closely coordinating with DOLE Philippines and other plant quarantine regional offices to comply with all necessary requirements to officially start the export of fresh hass avocado to South Korea.
BPI said that it first expressed interest in exporting fresh hass avocados to South Korea at the request of Dole Philippines in 2009.
The agency said that in 2012, South Korea’s Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency (APQA) conducted an import risk analysis which demanded extensive information on pest lists, cultivation areas, production volumesand post-harvest management of the fruit in the Philippines.
In February 2023, APQA of South Korea dispatched experts who conducted an on-site visit to validate the Philippines’ implementation of Phytosanitary measures being implemented in the Hass avocado production areas and packing houses in order to addressquarantine pests of concern.
The team of experts comprised of both local and international personnel, visited and inspected production areas of Hass avocado and packing houses in Cagayan de Oro and South Cotabato which surpassed phytosanitary criteria of compliance for the export of our Hass avocado to South Korea.
Based on data from the Philippine Statistics Authority, the country produced a total of 20,076.47 MT of avocado last year, up by 1 percent from 2021’s 19,874.96 MT.
