Storm hit Philippines may miss banana export targets

The Philippines, the world's third largest banana exporting country, may not be able to meet its export commitments after typhoon "Pablo" destroyed a quarter of the crops in Mindanao.

“I’m afraid that some orders from abroad may not be delivered,” Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala said in a radio interview on Thursday night, December 6.

Alcala's department estimates the damage will reach at least P300 million and one of the shipments in danger is a 3,000 metric tons of Cavendish bananas by Dole Philippines to the mainland United States before the end of 2012.

So far the damage to agriculture and infrastructure has already topped P4 billion, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said on Friday.

Rehabilitating farms for the next harvest will likely cost another P5 billion over the next 9 months.

The government is now considering gathering of banana tissue cultures from surviving farms and using them to replant affected plantations.

Source: rappler.com