Philippine mangoes off to Toronto, Canada

THE Philippines made its first commercial shipment of fresh Carabao mangoes to Toronto, Canada on Wednesday, June 3, marking another milestone in the Marcos administration’s push to diversify export markets and reduce the country’s reliance on traditional agricultural buyers. The Department of Agriculture (DA) was part of send-off ceremony at the Philippine Airlines cargo terminal in Pasay City, highlighting what officials describe as a breakthrough for one of the country’s most iconic fruit exports. “This is another step toward our goal of widening and diversifying the global market for our farm products such as bananas, coconuts and mangoes. It is time for other parts of the world to get a taste of the Philippines,” Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel Jr. said. The shipment follows last year’s inaugural export of fresh Philippine mangoes to Rome, a part of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s broader strategy to expand the global footprint of Philippine agricultural products. Beyond mangoes, bananas and coconuts, the DA is aggressively promoting a portfolio of high-value crops, including Cavendish Bananas, Cardaba / Saba Bananas, Cacao, Pomelo, Rambutan, Dalandan, Mango, Pineapple, Okra, Asparagus, Pili, Durian, Avocado, Dragon Fruits, Calamansi and Ube Under the Administration of Sec Tiu Laurel, the High Value Export Crop, Agri Fishery Export Development and Promotion Office was established and headed by Undersecretary Philip C. Young. Young said the mango shipment to Toronto demonstrates how government support and private-sector initiative can work together to open new markets for Filipino farmers. “The government is helping pave the way for the private sector to showcase to the world the products of Philippine farms. This is what happens when a nation works together,” he said. The Philippine Agriculture Office in Washington, DC, coordinated the shipment with the Philippine Consulate General in Toronto, the Philippine Trade and Investment Center in Toronto and mango industry stakeholders. Philippine exporters Hi-Las Marketing Corp. and Castillo Import Export Ventures Inc. supplied the fresh mangoes, with Ontario-based TSI Tropicals Inc. serving as the importer. Flagship carrier PAL will transport the fresh mangoes through a commercial air freight program.