China crackdown spares RP banana chip exports

Banana chip exports from Southeast Mindanao are exempt from the Chinese government’s crackdown on banana products from the Philippines, a trade official said. Online news site Mindanews reported Saturday that Roberto Barlis confirmed with exporters in the region that they do not use sulfur dioxide as a preservative. “The exporters denied they were using sulfur dioxide. What the Chinese authorities seized was dried banana exported from Cebu. They say it is a totally different product and process," said Barlis, head of the DTI consumer protection and trade regulations bureau for Southeastern Mindanao. Barlis said DTI Assistant Sec. Merly Cruz discussed the report in an office meeting after receiving the report and wanted to verify if the shipment came from the region. Only last week, Cruz underlined the growing banana chips export in the region, saying that exports of the banana chips in 2006 from Davao port reached US$24.77 million, 32 percent higher than the exports in 2005. China was among the growing foreign markets, along with Europe, US, Japan, Australia, and South Korea. Barlis did not discount the possibility China may have retaliated over the country’s removal of Chinese-made “White Rabbit" candies found with formaldehyde. Marilou Fernandez, chief executive officer of the Davao-based Koki Food International, a manufacturer and exporter of banana chips to China, said Friday they expected an impact in the demand in the next few weeks but did not say what the impact would be. But she said she is optimistic that the August to December peak season when banana chips will be in demand in China. Fifteen of the 24 banana chips exporters in Mindanao come from the Southern Mindanao region. The Department of Agriculture considers the China market as one of the growing markets for Philippine banana chips, with an annual growth rate of 30 percent per year. - GMANews.TV