by Zac Sarian, Manila Bulletin
Did you know that an enterprising young Korean based in the Metro Manila is making millions on our Philippine mango? This we gathered when we attended the mango congress in Cebu City recently.
This guy is estimated to sell at least 2 million mango halves that are sold online through his TV advertising. And do you know that half a mango is sold at the equivalent of P200. Try to compute his gross income.
This is what he does. The ripe (not overripe) mango is halved. The skin of each half is removed and the flesh is placed in a plastic pouch that is subjected to Instant Quick Freeze (IQF). Then this is shipped to Korea to be sold through the internet.
Ricardo Tolentino, the mango king from Ilocos Norte, told us that he delivered to the Korean no less than 350 tons last year. The buyer prefers the 200 grammers and not much heavier. But he will not buy fruits that are less than 200 grams. He buys the mature green fruits which he himself ripens in his facility.
Aside from Ilocos, he also buys a lot of his requirements from Iloilo, according to Rhoda Galos who also supplies some to him. This Korean certainly has discovered a goldmine in our carabao mango.
Meanwhile, in Mindanao a multinational company is all set to do instant quick freezing of mango for export to Europe. The company is already doing IQF for banana and pineapple. This should help Mindanao mango growers in marketing their harvests.
Source: Manila Bulletin