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Commodity Industry Situation
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The Philippines is an archipelago of 7,100
islands and islets in the Pacific. A
tropical country located 0.5-20 o north of the
equator, it has a warm and humid climate
with temperature (about 27 o C) and relative
humidity (about 80%) that remain constant
throughout the year. This climatic feature
and its fertile soils of mostly volcanic origin
make the Philippines an ideal place for
growing tropical fruits and nuts. In fact,
more than 300 indigenous and exotic, edible
fruit-bearing species are found in the
country.
The fruit sector is an important
component of Philippine agriculture. In
1998, it occupied a growing area of
621,861 ha (Table 1). During the 1994–1998
period, the fruit sector generated
foreign exchange ranging from US$0.44 M
(million) to 0.96 M (Table 2). Among the
major fruits, banana, mango, and pineapple
contribute significantly to the economy in
terms of income, employment, and foreign
exchange.
In recent years, the fruit crop industry
has exhibited increasing trends in terms
of production, area, and yield. The
contributions of specific crops to total
production in 1993 and 1997 are presented
in Table 3. During these periods, fruits
covered 6.59% of the 12.79 M ha total
crop area harvested. Fruit production
comprised 14.35% of the 66.78 M t (million
tons) of total volume of crops produced,
with a share of 19.9% in the total value of
production of P230.81 M.
The Philippines enjoys a major share of
export of banana and mango in the world
Table 1. Area and production of major fruits
in the Philippines, 1998. a
Area Production
Fruit (ha) (t)
Banana 334,668 3,755,164
Mango 96,883 508,887
Pineapple 64,925 1,254,372
Citrus 35,230 163,090
Durian 13754 55,016
Jackfruit 13540 93,540
Lanzones 10,530 26,724
Papaya 8,807 94,037
Avocado 8,807 22,726
Caimito 7,600 25,389
Cashew 7,130 4,900
Rambutan 3,524 12,720
Chico 3,140 11,890
Guayabano 3,073 8,573
Pili 2,580 4,631
Atis 2,057 6,262
Marang 3,067 12,875
Mangosteen 1,058 2,331
Tiesa 1,028 1,936
Balimbing 460 2,111
Total 621,861 6,067,174
a Bureau of Agricultural Statistics (BAS), 1999.
market. The advantage of the country as a
world fruit supplier is attributed to its
warm, tropical climate; fertile soil;
production areas outside the typhoon belt;
state-of-the-art technology and skilled
technicians; and nearness to the Asian and
Pacific markets.
Banana and Mango ......................................................................................................................................... 5