IN the past few days, there has been very good and very bad news in the export market of Philippine fruits.
First, the good news — and this made Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel very happy. After 13 years, the Philippines has finally gained access to Japan’s lucrative market for Hass avocados. The Philippines also became the first country in Asia to export Hass avocados to Japan.
Glenn Panganiban, director of the Bureau of Plant Industry, said the inclusion of Hass avocados in the Philippine export portfolio to Japan, which includes bananas and pineapples, is the culmination of over a decade of efforts, with initial access requests dating back to 2011.
The Hass variety, favored for its smaller size and pebbly skin that turns purplish-black when ripe, is particularly well-suited to Japanese preferences. Japan is a major importer of Hass avocados, with imports valued at $160 million (61,000 metric tons) in 2023. Key suppliers include Mexico, Peru, Australia, New Zealand, and the United States. The global market for Hass avocados is projected to reach $18 billion by next year.
‘Meantime, perhaps the government should consider striking a balance between business and the economy on one hand, and geopolitical interests on the other.’
These avocados were produced and distributed by Dole Philippines in Mindanao, which also began exporting fresh Hass avocados to South Korea in September 2023.
Then, the bad news.
Geopolitical tensions in the West Philippine Sea were blamed for China’s scaling back on its imports of bananas from the Philippines. As of the end of July, imports had dropped 49 percent year-on-year to 255,636 tonnes, based on International Trade Centre (ITC) data. The dip also meant the Philippines’ share of China’s banana market fell to 24.53 percent compared to 37.49 percent during the same seven-month period the year prior.
As a result, Vietnam has, for the first time, overtaken the Philippines as the top banana supplier to China.
Vietnam’s banana exports to China expanded by 19 percent year-on-year to 438,573 tonnes and the country now holds 42 percent market share, up from 33 per cent from the January to July period in 2023.
“Geopolitical policies definitely play a very important role in economic statecraft,” said Stephen Antig, executive director of the Pilipino Banana Growers and Exporters Association (PBGEA). “Based on past experiences, the industry always suffers collateral damage whenever there is tension in the West Philippine Sea.”
In March 2012 just before the grand standoff in the Scarborough Shoal, China stopped a huge shipment of PH bananas, claiming that they found pests. Since then, it has imposed stringent quarantine rules on other Philippine fruits.
While Filipino growers of bananas struggle with high production costs such as fertilizers, the presence of pests and diseases, weather disturbances, etc., those in Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos have improved their production capabilities. With Secretary Tiu Laurel at the helm of the Department of Agriculture, we can expect that his department would be able to remedy the situation.
Meantime, perhaps the government should consider striking a balance between business and the economy on one hand, and geopolitical interests on the other.
