PHL may resume mango exports to China

The Philippines may resume exporting fresh mangoes to Beijing should the Chinese government approve the protocols the Manila has developed in order to reenter China’s fresh fruit industry. “The feedback from the Chinese is encouraging. We’re hoping to resume the export of our mangoes to China as soon as China approved the protocols we developed to control pest infestation," Bureau of Plant Industry director Clarito Barron said Tuesday. Barron is also part of the 27th session of the Asia and Pacific Plant Protection Commission in Makati City, a five-day session which will end next Friday. China stopped importing fresh Philippine mangoes after a fruit fly incident in Hong Kong in August 2009. The mangoes were transshipped to Hong Kong on their way to mainland China. Last week, three Chinese plant quarantine officials evaluated pest control facilities and protocols in the Philippines. Barron said the officials considered revisiting the country’s procedures. “I guess [it] is good for us since we will be identifying preventive and corrective measures to make sure that the Hong Kong incident will not happen again," he said. The Chinese officials also urged the Philippines to improve the mango packaging system for local farmers to control infestations. Should China renew market access to the Philippines, all mango exports will have to undergo extended hot water treatment and vapor treatment to eliminate fruit flies and other pests before shipping the produce to China. The Philippines accounts for 3.5 percent of the world’s mango output Manila is keen on shipping mangoes to Canada and Europe, as production is expected rise by 10 percent annually in the next two years. On average, the Philippines produces 650,000 MT to 1 million MT of mangoes a year. — BC/VS, GMA News