 | Philippines first Asian country to export bananas to the US |
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mb.com.ph; September 17, 2013 (updated) The Philippines has earned the distinction of being the first Asian country to export bananas to the United States. This recognition came with the recent arrival of the maiden shipment of 7.047 metric tons of highland cavendish from Bukidnon at the Port of Long Beach near Los Angeles, according to Philippine Ambassador to Washington DC Jose L. Cuisia, Jr. According to Cuisia, this is the first of an estimated 3,000 metric tons that the US hopes to import from the Philippines this year. “With this shipment, we are hopeful that Philippine bananas would be able to find and satisfy a niche in the competitive US banana market,” Cuisia said in a statement. “We also hope that this is the beginning of increased access of Philippine bananas in North America.” Agriculture Attaché Dr. Josyline C. Javelosa disclosed that the arrival of the shipment came almost eight years after the Philippines first requested market access for its bananas. Javelosa said Filipino Americans in the US have long been craving for the unique and special banana varieties like lakatan and latondan. The highland bananas, which will be marketed in the US under the Sweetio brand, were exported by Dole Philippines to Dole Food Company Inc. and were shipped from the Mindanao International Container Terminal in Tagoloan, Misamis Oriental last August 20. The bananas, which arrived in the US last September 9, have been transferred to a ripening warehouse and will be available in local stores in the Los Angeles area next week. Javelosa said the shipment puts the US in the list of overseas destinations for Philippine bananas that include Japan, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Korea, China, Singapore, the Middle East, Canada, Russia and Indonesia. (by Roy Mabasa) |
