File photo MANILA - The Philippines is poised to ship an initial 7,500 metric tons of durian to China in March, Malacanang announced on Thursday. The scheduled shipment of durian to China was reported to President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. by the Department of Agriculture - Bureau of Plant Industry (DA-BPI) in a meeting at Malacanan Palace, Presidential Communications Office (PCO) Secretary Cheloy Garafil said in a statement. "In its (DA-PBM) presentation, the agency said there is an initial volume of 7,500 metric tons of durians ready to be sent to the Asian country, which will be sourced from 59 different farmers or producers covering some 400 hectares of production area," Garafil said. To recall, Marcos' state visit to China in January led to the signing of USD2-billion fruit export deal between Manila and Beijing to step up imports of high-value Philippine agricultural products. On Jan. 4, the DA and China's General Administration of Customs signed the Protocol of t
On top of advancing the durian industry, Department of Agriculture Senior Undersecretary Domingo Panganiban plans to revive projects he started in the Bureau of Plant Industry such as those in rubber, cacao, coffee and banana sectors.
A group of Filipino-Chinese businessmen is urging the government to train durian plantation owners and packaging factories to study Chinese food standards to help the country tap potential demand from China.
The Department of Agriculture is expanding the country’s durian production among other high value crops in the country after the Philippines secured a $2-billion fruit export deal with China.