Thursday, August 09, 2007 Mango production in region very low By Joy Romares-Sevilla
THE top official of the Southern Mindanao Mango Industry Development Council Inc. said Wednesday the industry is facing some problems at present following the decrease in mango production for the period.
Antonio Teh, president of the Council, said production of mango for the period is not good because of the rainy season the region experienced for the past several months.
"It is not good, the production is very low, the price is peaking up, plenty of mango buyers from Manila go down to Mindanao to buy mangoes because there was also a lack of supply in the same area," Teh said during Wednesday's 8th Anniversary of the Club888 press forum.
Teh added that mango farmers also experience loses since mango flowers tend to fall.
"Instead of bearing fruit, flowers pa lang natatanggal na sa puno, nahuhulog dahil sa ulan (it detaches from the tree, fall down due to the rain)," Teh explained.
Meanwhile, despite of these challenges the industry faces, Teh claimed that it is good news for the industry that the Australian Government has already approved the exportation of mango produced from Davao del Sur to Australia.
"The exportation was already approved but the certification is to be issued pa," Teh said.
Davao del Sur was identified by the provincial office of the Bureau of Agricultural Statistics (BAS) to be the top mango-producing province in Davao Region since 2003.
