PHL sends first mango shipment to Canada

THE Department of Agriculture (DA) said on Wednesday that the first commercial shipment to Canada of fresh Carabao mangoes has been dispatched via air cargo.

The DA made the announcement after a send-off ceremony at the Philippine Airlines (PAL) cargo terminal in Pasay City, adding Canada to the list of new destinations receiving their first Philippine mangoes after the opening of the Italian market last year.

Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel, Jr. said that the shipment forms part of a strategy to broaden the export market for bananas and coconuts.

“It is time for other parts of the world to get a taste of the Philippines,” Mr. Laurel said in a statement issued by the DA.

At a briefing, DA Spokesman and Assistant Secretary for Special Concerns and Official Development Assistance Arnel V. De Mesa said that the shipment was part of a program overseen by Philip C. Young, undersecretary-designate for Identified High-Value Export Crops and Agri-Fishery Export Development and Promotion.

He said that while many fruits have export potential, the issue is frequently volume and cost.

“We need to strengthen our productivity and lower the cost of production so that we become competitive,” Mr. De Mesa told reporters.

The DA is also planning to expand the markets for cavendish bananas, cardaba bananas (saba), cacao, pomelo, rambutan, dalandan, pineapple, okra, asparagus, pili, durian, avocado, dragonfruit, calamansi and ube.

The mangoes shipped to Canada were exported by Hi-Las Marketing Corp. and Castillo Import Export Ventures, Inc. The importer was Ontario’s TSI Tropicals, Inc. — Marron Joshua F. Mendoza