PHL official: New banana export deals in the offing

The Department of Trade and Industry expects new deals for banana growers and exports and buyers from Europe and the Middle East, Trade Secretary Gregory Domingo said Monday.   This, Domingo said, can be gleaned from the recent mission of industry stakeholders.   "We are expecting deals will be made out of the mission because we received reports that a lot expressed their interest [to buy bananas from the Philippines]," the secretary said in an interview.   He has not yet received the official mission report.   "I am expecting to receive the final report within this week and eventually come out with our own report," Domingo said.   The left middle of June to look for alternative markets outside Asia and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations after banana exports to China dropped because of stringent phytosanitary inspections imposed by Chinese authorities on Philippine bananas.   The decline in pace of shipments to China last May coincided with the Panatag Shoal standoff between Manila and Beijing in April.   The mission spearheaded by the Bureau of Export Trade Promotion included 15 Mindanao-based banana growers.   The group went to Abu Dhabi and Dubai in the Middle East. The proceeded to Italy and Brussels in Belgium. The mission chose Brussels because the city is considered a major trading center in the European region.   The Philippines is expected to proceed with its trial shipment of banana exports to the United States in the third quarter this year.   Despite gaining entry to the US, Domingo said the Chinese market couldn’t be ignored even if the volume of the Philippine banana exports to the US should grow in the long run.   "We cannot ignore the Chinese market because it is a big market," Domingo said earlier.   Before the Panatag Shoal dispute erupted, China accounted for a third of Philippine banana market.   With the Philippines supplying more than 90 percent of Japanese demand for bananas, Manila has ruled out any thoughts of further increasing volume to the Land of the Rising Sun. — VS, GMA News