Filtered By: Money
Money

US importers look to less costly RP mangoes


Major importers of Philippine mangoes in the United States are looking forward to less costly mangoes from Manila with the decision by the US government in December to allow other provinces in the Philippines to export the produce. This developed as the US Embassy in Manila confirmed the arrival of an inspector from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) to assess the mangoes to be shipped to the US mainland and the territories of Guam, Hawaii and the Commonwealth of Northern Marianas (CNMI). The first mango exports from areas outside Guimaras Island are expected to commence in March 2007 “and could last all-year round," according to Roberto Amores, president of the Philippine Mango Exporters Foundation. Aside from Guimaras other mango-producing areas in the Philippines are Zambales, Batangas, Bataan and Pampanga, all in the Luzon region. There are other areas in the Visayas such as Cebu, and Davao in Mindanao, which also produce fresh mangoes. Only Palawan is still prohibited by the USDA from exporting its mangoes because “the mango pulp weevil, a pest not known to exist in the United States, is prevalent (there). There are currently no approved treatments for this agricultural pest," the US Embassy said in an emailed response to this reporter’s queries. The mango season in Guimaras, and other provinces in the Visayan and Luzon regions, is from January to June. Orchards in Mindanao, on the other hand, produce mangoes from July to December. Uncompetitive mangoes Peter R. Sgro, chairman of Pacific Rim Brokers, and a major importer of Philippine mangoes on Guam told GMANews TV, “We support the effort for more regions of the Philippines to be allowed to export since this will help drive the cost down and in my opinion, be very helpful in spreading the wealth for this product among farmers in many regions rather than just Guimaras." Pacific Rim Brokers has been importing mangoes from Guimaras for the past four years and is also the largest exporter of Philippine mangoes to the US mainland. In the first two years, it sourced its mangoes from Diamond Star Agro Products, and the last two years, from Dole Asia. Prices, however, have gone up for everyone since companies like Dole and others must contribute to the overall USDA cost for an inspector to be in Guimaras and other USDA-related expenses roughly amounting to $100,000 (a year). This drives prices up especially since we are working with a limited supply. “Our hope is other regions open up so the supply increases all-year-round, thus, driving down the cost. With the current limited supply to only Guimaras and the high USDA fees, of course the price for Philippine mangoes will remain uncompetitive in the US," Sgro said. Despite what he calls the superior quality of Philippine mangoes, there is stiff competition from those coming from Mexico, which only cost $1.59 per pound (retail, freight on board). Philippine mangoes, on the other hand, cost $3.99 per lb (FOB), he said. “In our first two years, we easily sold 1,000 cases or one 20-foot container a week on Guam alone. (In 2005), that dropped to about 500 cases a week since the cost for us in just two years has increased by about 57 percent. Shipping also creates some issues since there are no direct ships to Guam from Manila. Air freight is not an option anymore since the cost of the mango alone now will not justify even the lowest of margins by a retailer and for us as a wholesaler, it also makes no sense to add the cost of air freight," Sgro said. Meanwhile, one USDA inspector will be arriving in Manila to check on the mangoes to be exported to the US mainland and its territories. Stacy MacTaggert, deputy press spokeswoman of the US Embassy in Manila told GMANews TV: “The USDA inspector will begin work in the Philippines on March 6 and will be here for almost four months supervising (vapor) heat treatments at three mango-packing facilities in the Manila area." VHT uses heated air saturated with water vapor to heat the mangoes to a specified temperature and holds that temperature for a specified period to ensure that all pests such as fruit flies within are killed. She added that the inspector’s arrival was prompted by request made last Feb. 15 by the Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI), an attached agency of the Philippine Department of Agriculture. Accepted int’l protocol Amores said the industry is targeting to export 200-250 metric tons of mangoes to the US and its territories this harvest season, and “my company, Hi-Las Marketing Corp., will probably account for 40 percent of that." But he added that he still “has no idea" how much of the targeted amount will come from Luzon and other mango-growing areas outside of Guimaras. Sgro confirmed receiving price quotations for mangoes from the Luzon area which he said “look very promising." He, however, declined to reveal the prices sent him pending negotiations for his purchases, but confirmed that Amores’s company is one of those which sent him Luzon mango quotations. The high cost of exporting to the US and its territories will hopefully be eased with the recent grant by the Philippine DA of $51,000 (P2.5 million) to help mango exporters defray the costs of USDA inspection fees. Salvador Salacup, DA assistant secretary said the USDA inspector will inspect mangoes “to include those from the Luzon grid, like Zambales and Pangasinan." He added that the total costs relating to inspection of Philippine mangoes is actually P7 million ($142,857), the balance of which will be borne by the mango exporters. The payment of inspection fees by the Philippines, he explained, is “covered by a tripartite agreement between the (Philippine) DA, BPI and the USDA…. It is an accepted international protocol for countries with exporters to pay for the needs of inspectors, such as lodging, operating expertise, dining, and logistics." The US Embassy said only VHT’ed mangoes from these areas other than Guimaras island will be allowed to be exported to US territories. “However, import-export procedures require the Philippine DA to submit to the US Animal Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) a request for a pre-clearance program. This helps make arrangements to appropriately calibrate the heat treatment facilities for export standards, and to schedule Aphis pre-clearance inspectors for the program." APHIS is an agency under the USDA charged with protecting US agriculture from pests and diseases. The quoted fees for the services of these USDA/APHIS inspectors, usually cover a period of five months. According to Dr. Hernani Golez, technical consultant to BPI, the fees pay for the stay of a two- or three-man inspection team in Manila who are billeted at five-star hotels as requested by the USDA, including meals. The inspection team assesses the mangoes brought in to the three VHT facilities at the Food Terminal Inc. in Taguig. The Philippines also hosts inspection teams from Japan and Korea, although Golez said, “these do not cost as much (as the USDA fees)…that’s why the mango exporters have no difficulty paying for those." He said Korean inspectors, for example, are billeted in three-star hotels, compared to their US counterparts. For its part, the US Embassy said, “Fees depend on the number of inspectors and the level of technical expertise required, which is determined by the commodity and program that is in place." The export of fresh mangoes from the Philippines (Guimaras only) to the US began in 2001, with their entry into Guam and the CNMI. Exports to the US mainland started in 2002. The entire US market for fresh and processed mangoes is worth some $200 million. Data from the USDA showed that U.S. mango imports amounted to 575.1 million pounds in 2005, down by 6.1 percent from the 2006, primarily due to reduced production by its biggest suppliers in Central and South America. Mexico, which accounts for 61 percent of the fresh mangoes sold in the US, offer two varieties, the Mexican Hayden and Tommy Atkins. The Philippine Super Mango (Carabao) variety, however, is fast gaining popularity in the U.S. mainland because of its size and sweetness. Annual consumption of mangoes in the U.S. has been estimated at 1.9 pounds per person, according to the same data. - GMANews.TV -

LOADING CONTENT