Philippine banana farmers eye supply deal in Japan


Image result for duterte in japan bananaPhilippine banana farmers eye supply deal in Japan


MANILA - Filipino farmers in conflict-wracked Maguindanao will supply bananas to a Japanese supermarket chain under an agreement that will be signed during President Rodrigo Duterte's trip to Tokyo this week, his agriculture minister said Tuesday.
A 50,000-hectare banana plantation, which can produce up to 20 million boxes of the fruit annually, will be dedicated to the deal that is also expected to generate 100,000 jobs, Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol said.
“First time that they really specified na bibili kami ng saging pero gusto namin na manggagaling sa conflict areas,” he told radio DZMM.
Japan is supporting the Philippines' efforts to end a four-decade-long Muslim insurgency in the south. Through the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), it funded the construction of a leadership academy in Maguindanao, where Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) rebels are based.
Image result for duterte in japan bananaIt will be the second trade deal in a month to boost banana exports. China earlier lifted trade restrictions ahead of Duterte's visit to Beijing last week, which heralded a fresh start to relations that were strained by a bitter sea dispute.
The Philippines can meet Japanese demand for bananas despite reported cases of fusarium or “Panama disease," which wilts banana trees in several Mindanao plantations, Piñol said.
The Department of Agriculture is putting up a P100-million laboratory in Davao City where farmers could access anti-fusarium chemicals, he said.
Bananas are the second highest-earning agricultural export of the Philippines, next to coconut, Piñol said. Ninety percent of bananas in Asia are grown in the Philippines where the industry rakes earns $1.2 billion annually.
Piñol said Duterte would help uplift the banana industry, where stakeholders feel they have been neglected before.
“Tayo po ang number 1 in Asia, hindi po natin pakakawalan iyan and we will produce more [We are the top banana exporter in Asia, we will not relinquish that and will produce more]," he said.

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