ONE tangible result of President Bongbong Marcos’ recent state visit to China is the pledge by Chinese businesses to import $2.09 billion worth of fruits from the Philippines, including durian, coconut, bananas and watermelon.
Reports said at least four companies have expressed their intent to purchase more Philippine tropical fruit products, particularly durian, during the meeting between Marcos and Chinese agribusiness leaders.
According to the Presidential Communications Office (formerly Office of the Press Secretary), the protocols for “phytosanitary requirements for the export of fresh durians from the Philippines to China” were among the areas covered by 14 bilateral agreements signed during the President’s visit.
‘In this agricultural field, however, we are faced with stiff competition with Malaysia and Thailand, and probably Indonesia too, because these places have the same topography and climate as we do, and they now dominate the Chinese market in tropical fruits.’
The Marcos administration sees this as a positive development in the government’s efforts to narrow the wide trade deficit between the Philippines and China. Like other countries, we have been importing many products from China, which has become the world’s most productive factory, while exporting too little. Through the years, China has become our largest trading partner and we stand to benefit from preferential trade with this giant neighbor, if only our policies of economic cooperation and people-to-people exchange remain trade-friendly.
Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority showed that the Philippine trade deficit with the Asian economic giant stood at $15.25 billion as of 2021. Perhaps a vigorous production of PH fruits and their bulk distribution in China will make a huge dent to bridge this gap, develop our agricultural sector and create a lot of jobs for Filipinos especially in our rural areas.
It is reassuring to know that Manila and Beijing have been finalizing the rules and regulations for the importation of Philippine fruits, notably including durian, “to balance the trade situation that we have,” the President said.
“There has been created what we are now calling the ‘Durian Protocol’ because they are opening their trade to imports of durian and other agricultural products from the Philippines, so that we can regress the imbalance in our imports and exports from China,” President Marcos said.
While the Davao region accounts for 78 percent of the country’s total durian harvest, durian plantations can be expanded to Mindoro and the Calabarzon region and even the Bicol region, and it is welcome news that Chinese investors are eyeing durian as a plantation crop.
In this agricultural field, however, we are faced with stiff competition with Malaysia and Thailand, and probably Indonesia too, because these places have the same topography and climate as we do, and they now dominate the Chinese market in tropical fruits.
The government must step in to encourage, assist and even subsidize our fruit farmers to achieve the desired results.
