Banana growers ask Senate to explore alternatives after Iran import snafu

DAVAO CITY—The Pilipino Banana Growers and Exporters Association (PBGEA) asked the Senate to still consider the options that the industry has presented to government despite its assurance that the Iran market, the single biggest importer of Philippine Cavendish bananas, has resumed normal buying.

Citing that its contract growers remained anxious, the PBGEA said it wanted the government to lay down its policies in relation to the six points of alternate measures that the Regional Development Council (RDC) in the Davao Region has crafted for the still beleaguered industry.

Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala told reporters here last week that “China is increasing its demand for Philippine bananas and that the difficulty in Iran is mainly due to lack of letters of credit being issued to Iranian fruit importers and that the problem have been addressed.”

But Stephen Antig, executive director of the PBGEA, said its contract growers remained anxious.

He said the association has already presented to Sen. Teofisto Guingona III the “six-point package of options to mitigate the negative impact of Iran’s inability to buy Philippine bananas.”

The options were the result of the meeting of the two committees of the RDC, the Economic Development committee and Social Development committee, and attended by PBGEA.

Antig said in a PBGEA statement on Thursday that the package included, “among others, exploring the possibility of bartering Philippine bananas with Iranian oil and asserting entry of Philippine bananas to Australia to balance the trade between the two countries which is too lopsided in favor of Australia.”

“Australian export earnings from the Philippines average $480-million per annum vis-à-vis the Philippines’ paltry $126-million,” he said.

Another option was also to exempt the banana companies from implementing this year’s mandated raise in daily minimum wage. The current level in the region was pegged at P276 for the agriculture sector, and P10 higher for the retail, service and industry sector.

This item has raised the concern of the militant labor, although the Kilusang Mayo Uno has also appealed to government to provide alternative policy measures to stave off a crisis among workers in the industry.

Antig said that earnings from Iran had been sustaining the livelihood of 36,000 workers, “mostly heads of six-member households bringing to roughly 216,000 Mindanao residents who are directly dependent on the continuing viability of the Iran market.”

Iran is the Philippine export banana industry’s biggest market in the Middle East, the PBGEA said. The country imports an average of 32,000,000 boxes per annum, representing the production of 9,000 banana farmlands in Mindanao and approximately valued at P4.8-billion. –Manuel T. Cayon / Reporter, Businessmirror