Better deals eyed for fruit growers in Davao

DAVAO CITY, Philippines — A Manila-based firm involved in fresh produce export will sign an agreement with fruit suppliers during the two-day 1st Minfruit Market Encounter, which opens here on July 31. A press release the other day from the US -funded Growth with Equity in Mindanao (GEM) quoted Zavier Abella, Agri-Nurture Inc.’s purchasing officer for fruits, as citing the need for more fruit suppliers to meet an increase in demand for mangoes in Hong Kong. GEM said the company has already secured a purchase agreement from a 50-hectare mango plantation in North Cotabato. The company has also started buying bananas from growers in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao and that it is interested to buy solo papaya and pineapple as it develops new markets specifically New Zealand, China and Canada. The report added the company currently ships fruits twice a week to Singapore. The company official said it also plans to establish buying centers in Mindanao to "help streamline shipments to Luzon and the Visayas." Agri-Nurture is just one among the buyers invited to the two-day Minfruit Market Encounter, which will showcase market options for growers. Antonio B. Partoza Jr., chairman of the sponsoring Mindanao Fruit Industry Development Council, said the event will bring buyers and producers closer in the hope of eliminating the middlemen who add another price level, placing growers at the losing end. "If we can just eliminate one or two layers (in the marketing chain), we will be very happy," he said. — BusinessWorld