Cardaba, Cavendish's alternative

INVESTMENTS must be made on non-Cavendish banana variety like Cardaba in order to increase income for Mindanawon farmers, Sagrex Foods Incorporated data reports.

Sagrex Foods Inc., a home-grown agri-based company, reports a total of around 300 percent return on investment (ROI) in venturing to Cardaba banana production.

Based from the company’s data in 2018, an investment cost of around P176,000 plus expenses like post-harvest trucking, and harvesting and handling amounting to a total around P115,000 can yield around P527,000 net income.

“At the assumed price of P12 per kilogram (kg), while Sagrex Foods base price is 12 and could go as high as 16, the yield of a one hectare(ha) plantation will yield around P818,400 in the first three years and first four harvesting cycles, giving a net income of around P526,978/ha,” Sagrex’s records said, adding that normal plant gate price in Mindanao ranges from P7 per kg during peak months up to P10 or even P12 per kg during lean months.

According to Sagrex, the demand of Cardaba is whole year-round, making it a potential investment market venture for banana growers especially in Mindanao given with the huge hectares of land planted for banana production.

Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) data shows Davao region remaining as the top banana producer ar 3.46 million metric tons (MT) contributing 38 percent to the total banana production in 2015.

“Davao Region posted the largest area planted at 88.28 thousand hectares contributing 19.9 percent of the total area planted to banana,” PSA records said.

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