THE banana industry will take centerstage in this year's staging of the Davao Trade Expo 2014 (Date), touted as Mindanao's biggest trade exhibition, hosted by the Davao City Chamber of Commerce and Industry Inc.
This year, the trade expo will be highlighted by the International Banana Symposium which will bring together global and national experts to discuss recent advances on research and development, marketing strategies, logistics, pests and disease management, and other emerging trends at present concerning the banana industry, one of Mindanao's top export products.
The three-day symposium will be held back-to-back with Date 2014, which is slated on November 19-22, 2014 at SMX Convention Center in Davao City, and in partnership with Bioversity International and Banana Asia Pacific Network (Bapnet).
Date 2014 carries the theme: "Davao: From Local Agriculture to Global Agribusiness."
The symposium will include plenary lectures by internationally-renowned banana scientists, market briefings, technical oral presentations, and poster presentations and exhibitions. In line with the Symposium theme, a diverse variety of relevant and interesting scientific papers from researchers worldwide will be presented.
"The International banana symposium (IBS) was previously held in Tiruchirapalli; India in 2008, Guangzhou; China in 2009, Chiang Mai; Thailand in January 2012; and in Kaohsiung; Taiwan in November 2012," said Dr. Agustin Molina, honorary research fellow and OIC Asia Pacific of Bioversity International.
"We are excited to finally host it at home in Davao," he said.
More than 300 delegates worldwide are expected to participate in the symposium, coming from the academe, research and development sector, government agencies and private businesses concerned with the banana industry both locally and internationally.
"Banana is one of the country's top export products. We are among the top-ranked banana exporters in the world, thereby making us Asia's banana exporting capital. We hope that Mindanaoans can take advantage of the learnings that they can get from our local and foreign speakers and delegates," Luciano Frederick Puyod III, chair of this year's Date and currently vice president for agribusiness of DCCCII, said in a statement.
Davao Trade Expo, now on its 16th year, will also feature close to 200 exhibitors essentially coming from agri-trade and agri-industrial sectors together with its complementary industries, food (fresh, processed and packaging), machineries & equipment, post-harvest facilities, agricultural chemicals, animal husbandry, fertilizers and pest management, financing, ICT and logistics, among others. In addition, exhibitors from all other industries are also invited to showcase their products and businesses in the three-day event.
"All other industries are more than welcome, because Date is not only about agriculture, but about all the other businesses in Davao and Mindanao. We even have exhibitors from auto, handicrafts, real estate, and banking sector among others. So this open for everyone who's business is to make business," DCCCII president Antonio dela Cruz, president of the Davao City Chamber of Commerce and Industry Inc., for his part said.