VIRUS ABOUT TO HIT BANANA SUPPLY

IN MANILA, PHILIPINES reported that the coronavirus pandemic (Covid-19) may limit supplies of bananas in Asia. Growers in the Philippines known as the world’s second-biggest exporter already said overseas shipments may drop by nearly 40% this year as lockdowns and social distancing measures curb output and transport. The country’s exports of the fruit are expected to plunge to about 2.5 million tonnes this year from 4 million last year, said Stephen Antig as an executive director of the Pilipino Banana Growers and Exporters Association. The producers are including Unifrutti Tropical Philippines Inc, have halted some operations, he said. Bananas have to be harvested every day, ” said Alberto Bacani, president of Unifrutti Philippines and by the time we come back, a lot of that fruit will be spoiled and will have to be thrown away. The Philippines accounted for an estimated 20% of global banana shipments in 2019 and about 90% of total export volumes in Asia, with its two major markets being China and Japan, according to a 2020 report from the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations. Ecuador is the largest exporter.The country’s main island of Luzon has been under a lockdown since mid-March that will last through the end of April.  Blog "Anim Agriculture Technology'' share a report by Bloomberg about the issue of covid-19 pandemic about to hit banana supply from Philippines.

The coronavirus pandemic may limit supplies of bananas in Asia. Growers in the Philippines, the world’s second-biggest exporter, said overseas shipments may drop by nearly 40% this year as lockdowns and social distancing measures curb output and transport. The country’s exports of the fruit are expected to plunge to about 2.5 million tons this year from 4 million last year, said Stephen Antig, executive director of the Pilipino Banana Growers and Exporters Association. Producers, including Unifrutti Tropical Philippines Inc., have halted some operations, he said. Agriculture Secretary William Dar on Wednesday urged local governments, particularly in Bukidnon province where several banana farms and packing houses are located, to allow farmers, fishers, and employees of food processing and manufacturing facilities to work to avoid artificial food shortages and price spikes. If the Bukidnon lockdown, which is scheduled to run April 13-26 in 2020, is eased, the country rts may be impacted because many farms that export the fruit to the East Asian country are under quarantine. “In the next two weeks, you will see a drastic reduction in the banana volume in Japan,” he said, while adding that other exporters like Ecuador may fill in the gap. Yuko Yamada, a local spokeswoman for the Japan Banana Importers’ Association said the country depends. Source: Bloomberg

Thanks.

By,

M Anim,

Melaka City, Melaka,

Malaysia.

(August 2020)