DAVAO CITY – The Department of Agriculture (DA) is providing PHP3 million as marketing and public relations campaign fund of the Pilipino Banana Growers and Exporters Association (PBGEA) to promote Philippine bananas in Japan.
The campaign aims to strengthen the market access and possible price increase of Philippine bananas in the international market.
“Davao Region is the agribusiness capital of the country. Seeing that the banana industry has remained still in spite of the pandemic is a manifestation that agribusiness needs private sector to succeed,” Agriculture Secretary William Dar said in a press conference on May 3.
For his part, PBGEA Executive Director Stephen Antig expressed his gratitude to the DA for their support to help the recovery of Davao Region’s banana sector.
“We thank the DA for its commitment and support for the banana industry. The domestic banana industry is optimistic that the marketing campaign would enable producers to secure the support of Japanese consumers in our bid to adjust prices,” Antig said.
According to the Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC), the Philippines exported $1.66 billion worth of bananas in 2020—making it the second largest exporter of the fruit in the world —with Japan ($749 million) being the top destination. - Florenda Corpuz
