DAVAO CITY — Sabah, Malaysia -an area that the Philippines retains a dormant claim — and East Kalimantan, Indonesia are prospective markets for Mindanao mangoes, an official of the Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) said Wednesday.
MinDA Undersecretary Janet Lopoz said Mindanao’s sweet mangoes can find a market on the said countries as both only source their produce from Vietnam and Thailand.
“Mindanao is their nearest neighbor and most of the products sold in their market are found here in our island,” she said.
“There are so many commodities absent in Sabah and East Kalimantan that Mindanao can provide,” she added.
She said the mango industry is one of the priorities of MinDA in 2020 as this will expand the market of Mindanao producers to the foreign market.
However, she said the industry stakeholders are fragmented and need help in penetrating the markets as well as improve on phytosanitary protocols.
Lopoz said the mango industry here is organizing themselves into a Mindanao Council with composition from the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) and the Department of Agriculture (DA).
“While we strengthen the regulatory policies, it is also important that the stakeholders will own it and be more accountable so that protocols including minimum residue level of pesticides on the fruits will be complied,” she added. (PNA)
