The Government plans to expand mango exports to the United States by reducing freight costs to make local mangoes more competitive, an official of the Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) said late last week. The BPI, an agency attached to the Agriculture department, will again test the controlled atmosphere technology in a shipment from Manila to California to Chicago, Illinois next month, BPI Technical Director Hernani G. Golez said in a telephone interview.
The controlled atmosphere, first tested in 2004, is a technology which delays the ripening of mangoes and prolongs shelf life to enable the mangoes to reach distant markets like the US in satisfactory state. "The only problem for our mangoes is our freight cost. The controlled atmosphere would allow mangoes to ’sleep’ for 27 days to save on shipping cost," said Mr. Golez, who is also the chief of the National Mango Research and Development Center.
Air freight accounts for up to 60% of mango’s landed price, he said. For instance, a five-kilogram box of Philippine mangoes costs $39-$40, almost triple the $14.50 for Mexican mangoes. The government eyes cutting costs to $21-$22/five-kg. box.
"There was no conclusive data that will prove that the shipment by controlled atmosphere in a long transit ship to the United States and Europe is successful," Roberto C. Amores, vice-president for Agriculture and Food Security of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said in a separate phone interview.
Hence, he said the government should experiment cross-breeding local mangoes with a semi-temperate variety to produce a mango with a long shelf life. The country exported 37,157 kilograms of fresh mangoes to the US worth $183,675 in 2007, data from the Bureau of Agricultural Statistics show.
Meanwhile, a nationwide survey on the presence of mango seed and pulp weevil which was funded by the United States Agency for International Development, will conclude this August, Mr. Golez said. BPI has surveyed seven regions in Luzon composed of 36 mango-producing provinces and three regions in Visayas composed of 16 such provinces. BPI is surveying six Mindanao regions with 25 mango-producing provinces.
Source: bworldonline.com
Publication date: 2/23/2009
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