Sugar, banana exports to thrive more as new markets open — NEDA

New markets for sugar and bananas will help  agro-based exports to keep growing, the National Economic and Development Authority said Monday. The Philippine International Trading Corp. and the Sugar Regulatory Administration have identified the news markets, but PITC is still talking to buyers in on their requirements,  said NEDA officer-in-charge and Deputy Director-General Emmanuel Esguerra. Apart from “South Korea and India, Indonesia and the Middle East were also identified as potential market for sugar,” Esguerra noted. The major importers of raw (cane) sugar are the United States, Russia, China, Korea, Indonesia, Malaysia, and India, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization Statistics. For bananas, an initial shipment of 3,000 metric tons to the US last December was canceled on account of Typhoon Pablo and was rescheduled for April 2013, accord The US is one of the top 20 importers of bananas, FAO noted. “This is also in line with US Department of Agriculture’s announcement that allows Philippine highland Cavendish bananas to be shipped to their country,” Esguerra said. Citing recent National Statistics Office (NSO) data, NEDA highlighted the the urgency of taking advantage of the increasingly integrated regional and global markets. In February, NSO data showed exports of raw and refined sugar grew by 27,094.6 percent and bananas by 95.5 percent year-on-year which brought the pushed the overall growth for agro-based products by 43.7 percent to $343.9 million in the same comparable period. Esguerra noted the need to facilitate implementation of necessary programs and policies to enhance the competitiveness of Philippine exports. Exporters are reeling from a strong peso, which makes their products expensive to overseas buyers, “but this can be overcome by the positive impact resulting from better infrastructure, efficient logistics, lower power costs, and other measures to reduce the cost of doing business,” he added. — VS, GMA News