Ahead of the July durian harvest, some growers seem to be unsure how the Philippines will service China export demand, based on their estimates for crop volume. “We are wondering where the durian will come from,” Federation of Free Farmers Raul Q. Montemayor told BusinessWorld. He said his conversations with durian farmers in Davao indicate that while they are confident about meeting Chinese quality standards, volume is another matter. The Davao Region accounts for 78% of national production of durian.
On Thursday, the government announced plans to ship an initial 7,500 tons of durian in March, part of commitment to export around 50,000 tons. Montemayor said that the Department of Agriculture (DA) should validate whether the current volume of durian is sufficient to meet demand and whether they were certified as grown using good agricultural practice guidelines.
Source: bworldonline.com