‘Pole-vaulting’ seen as bane to banana export industry

Pole-vaulting, or the trading of bananas outside of the usual farmer-exporter contracts, has become such a serious problem that the Agriculture Department now considers the practice one of the factors that contributed to the exporting problems the Philippines currently faces with China and other countries. According to a statement released by DA Secretary Proceso Alcala during the Mindanao Banana Congress in Davao City, the practice has become so rampant and so damaging to the banana export industry that Alcala has ordered stricter protocols in the accreditation of banana exporters. Furthermore, industry insiders worry that pole vaulting could eventually destroy the export industry if left unchecked. The practice of pole vaulting, according to Francisco Espinel of FedCo, a banana cooperative based in Mindanao, started in 2005 at the peak of the fresh banana export industry. Normally, banana exporters would buy fresh bananas from farmers and producers on the basis of a contract that lasts from 3 to 5 years. These contracts obligate a producer’s harvest exclusively to a buyer for a fixed price. In turn, the buyer is obligated to buy all the bananas produced by the farmer, regardless of demand. This system is supposed to be beneficial for both parties because it gives the farmer a guaranteed income while ensuring the buyer a reliable volume for export. The demand for bananas worldwide is greatest from January to May. But these months are also when banana farmers experience a decline in production. Buyers often have a hard time meeting demand. This is when pole-vaulting occurs. In order to meet the export demand, some fly-by-night spot buyers would go around the country and visit farmers, enticing them to break or short change their contracts in exchange for selling their produce, regardless of the quality, at a higher price. Fernando Betonio Sr., also from FedCo, explained that although pole-vaulting seems legal, it actually hurts the industry in so many ways. Most of these spot buyers are not accredited by the Department of Agriculture and there have been reports of banana farmers and producers being swindled. These farmers and producers eventually lose contracts from legitimate buyers. Also, legitimate buyers themselves are sometimes forced to resort to pole-vaulting when their contract farms fail to deliver the required volume. Meanwhile, farmers smell a conspiracy, believing the practice is facilitated by the Bureau of Quarantine itself, due to the alleged influence of fly-by-night buyers. These spot buyers often don’t have the facilities to ensure the proper storage and handling of bananas after harvesting. This often results in having some spoiled or overripe batches of bananas being exported. This has been cited as one of the sanitary issues China has with Filipino fresh banana exports. Under most contract buying agreements, farmers are required to maintain a certain standard of quality in order for their harvests to be sold. Buyers, meanwhile, have the responsibility of checking the quality and providing proper postharvest storage and handling of the bananas before they’re shipped off. In order to control this problem, and aside from the stricter exporter accreditation policy, the Bureau of Plant Industry-Plant Quarantine Services (BPI-PGS) has been tasked to track down pole-vaulters. Furthermore, the BPI-PQS will be continuously monitoring grower harvest information to validate the volume of export in ports all over the country. Additionally, only buyers with validated volumes of bananas will be approved export. — DVM, GMA News