The Market Monitor Minding the Nation's Business
The Department of Agriculture (DA) expects China’s plan to increase the volume of fruit, fish and fishery product imports from the Philippines to boost the country’s agriculture.
This, after the Chinese government has announced that it would lift the suspension imposed on Filipino companies exporting bananas and pineapple to the country.
“The lifting of the ban on banana and pineapple exports will come as a big relief to the agriculture sector which registered a negative performance of .4 percent in the first quarter of 2016,” said Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol.
During his recent courtesy call at the DA, Chinese Ambassador Zhao Jianhua indicated his country’s intent to increase the volume of bananas, pineapples and other agricultural products that it is importing from the Philippines.
Piñol said China would also be opening up its market to other high value commercial crops like mangoes, coconut and dragon fruit, high-end fisheries products such as Lapu-Lapu, crabs, shrimps, prawns and tuna and bangus.
“Philippine agriculture products would soon be sold in major cities in China, a move which is expected to boost the growth of Philippine agriculture,” he added. PNA