by Reuel John F. Lumawag, Sun Star
Banana production in Davao Region rose by at least 11.63 percent as of the third quarter last year, the Department of Agriculture’s (DA) regional office reported.
Production increased to 762,040.78 metric tons (MT) in 2014 as compared to 682,633.25 MT in the same period of 2013.
DA-Davao Regional Director Remelyn R. Recoter attributed the growth to the expansion of lands planted with bananas.
Recoter said the increase is a sign that the banana industry has recovered from the devastation of Typhoon Pablo, which in 2012 ravaged around 14,000 hectares of banana plantations.
The highest increase was recorded in Compostela Valley: 79.09 percent, to 142,142.58 MT from 79,370.93 MT. The province ranked third in the region.
Davao del Norte remained as the top producer of banana in the region, producing 412,857.72 MT last year, a 2.34 percent rise from 2013.
Banana production in Davao Oriental was up by 19.90 percent (25,821.03 MT last year from 21,534.61 MT in 2013) while production in Davao del Sur increased by 2.42 percent (110,672 MT from 108,055.67 MT).
Davao City experienced only a minimal increase of 0.43 percent (70,546.59 MT from 70,245.33 MT).
The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA)-Davao earlier reported an increase in bananas exported in terms of both gross weight and freight of board (FOB) value.
Gross weight of bananas exported increased by 531.87 percent to 5.36 billion kilos as of the second quarter of 2014, from 849.22 million kilos in the same period in 2013.
The FOB value went up by 50.02 percent to $355.68 million last year from $237.03 million in 2013.
Source: Sun Star