Japan to import $220-M worth of Philippine bananas yearly

(Image grabbed from Philippine Lifestyle News website)

In a report published by Philippine Daily Inquirer, House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez told that a deal was made to import $220 million worth of Philippine bananas by Japan annually, that will also aim to sustain source of livelihood to rebel returnees and beneficiaries of the agrarian reform program.

Philippines, being the third biggest exporter of bananas in the world is now tapped to export 10 times than its usual number. A major fruit distributor in Japan Farmind Corp., is said to bring to bananas from the Philippines and is currently targeting 20 million boxes of bananas to bring into their country. At present, only 2 million boxes of bananas are imported from the Philippines.

According to Bohol Representative Arthur Yap, “The cultivation of more bananas for the Japanese market would mean an additional 25,000 to 30,000 hectares of planting areas in Mindanao, which means more jobs to be created”

Sources: Manila Bulletin, Inquirer.Net