Regulation for mango trading in Davao sought

DAVAO CITY — The Davao Region Mango Contractors Association is pressing for a local ordinance to regulate mango trading. Ednar Carlos Dayanghirang, chairman of the association, said his group is still studying the proposal that he will submit to the city council, following reports that some traders persuaded growers to harvest prematurely due to a high retail price, thus, sacrificing fruit quality. Councilor Peter Lavina, chairman of the city council committee on trade and commerce, was not available for comment. "Our exports to Hong Kong were practically destroyed. We missed the opportunities because there were some traders who took advantage of the high prices, not thinking of the stronger effects of their actions to the industry. They did not consider the negative effects," said Mr. Dayanghirang. "Prices went up to P85 a kilogram [from P30/kg in June]," he recalled. Although a trader had ordered 500,000 kilograms from him by next month, he said he could not find a source anymore because many of the growers had harvested their mangoes prematurely. He noted that even those just 95 days old had already been harvested, when mango takes at least 110 days to mature. The immediate effect, he said, is that while production started to pick up in the second quarter, the prices have started to decrease as foreign buyers found quality wanting. Mr. Dayanghirang said his association should look into this practice and come up with measures to counter it, because the resulting damage could have far-reaching consequences when it comes to big markets with strict quarantine regulations like Australia. Once lost, access to such markets would be difficult to regain, with everyone in the industry left at the losing end. "We have to protect the industry," he said. Mr. Dayanghirang noted the lack of cohesion among traders, contractors and growers, whose actions affect each other. He cited the case of a contractor in Davao Oriental who was duped by a trader by mere verbal agreement. The trader decided to abrogate their verbal contract, leaving the grower empty-handed, he said. - Carmelito Q. Francisco/BusinessWorld