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Philippine banana exports to the Middle East are threatened by an expected intensifying competition with Central American banana producer Costa Rica, an industry official said yesterday.
Higher export prices are also seen if aerial spraying is banned, causing an increase in production cost.
This, after the top official of a banana industry group in Costa Rica announced last week that it targets doubling banana exports to the Middle East in one-and-a- half years.
Capability
"They have the land to do it. And even in far places, they were able to ship," Anthony B. Sasin, spokesman of the Pilipino Banana Growers and Exporters Association (PBGEA), said in a phone interview yesterday.
He noted that Costa Rica can produce bananas in 200,000 hectares of land, more than triple the 60,000 hectares in the Philippines.
Last week, Reuters reported that Jorge Sauma, chief executive of industry group Corporacion Bananera Nacional, announced that Costa Rica targets doubling exports to 200,000 metric tons (MT) per year to the Middle East.
Costa Rica plans to educate traders about the quality of South American bananas and will try to consolidate shipment to save on freight costs.
Of the banana exports of the Philippines, the second leading banana exporter next to Ecuador, a tenth or 279,500-286,000 MT goes to the Middle East, Mr. Sasin said.
More problems
Furthermore, Mr. Sasin said that banning aerial spraying will increase production cost, eroding the competitiveness of the country's banana exports.
"There is our competitor and we are also being attacked by non-government organizations, we will be less competitive," he said.
He argued that manual spraying increases production cost by "maybe another 30%," citing the need for more workers and chemicals. "If you try to do it with an equipment mounted on a truck, you have to chop trees and put up infrastructures," Mr. Sasin said.
The banana industry is waiting for the decision of the Supreme Court on the legality of a Davao City ordinance banning aerial spraying in the area. The appellate court in Cagayan de Oro City last year declared the ordinance illegal.
Still confident
Still, the government remains confident of the competitiveness of Philippine banana exports, as it targets opening new markets.
"The banana industry is very competitive in the world market." Rene Rafael C. Espino, director of the Agriculture department's High Value Commercial Crops program, said yesterday in text message.
Mr. Espino said the government will conduct "opening and expansion [of markets] through bilateral and multinational negotiations, market reconnaissance, promotion and trade facilitation."
About 90% of the country's 2.795-2.860 million MT annual exports goes to Japan, racking up revenues of $720 million per year, industry data show.
In the nine months to September, output of banana, which accounts for 5.03% of total farm production, rose 4.01% to 6.376 million MT given expansion of harvest areas, data from the Bureau of Agricultural Statistics show.
"We are looking at a 15% expansion next year," Mr. Sasin said, referring to the current 60,000 hectares of banana plantations, mostly in Mindanao.
Source: www.bworldonline.com
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