Export promotion efforts expanded to cover 10 more high-value crops

THE Department of Agriculture (DA) said it is seeking to diversify the agricultural export portfolio by promoting 10 additional high-value crops for the global market, following the rebound in banana exports.

In a statement on Tuesday, Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel, Jr. said the Philippines’ return as the world’s second-largest banana exporter in 2025 confirms that targeted government intervention is delivering results.

“Many thought the banana industry was in decline. This is proof of concept that when interventions are done right, we can reverse the trend,” he said.

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization said preliminary data indicate that exports of Philippine bananas likely grew 25.6% to 2.93 million metric tons last year, reversing a slight decline in 2024.

The DA said it is hoping to replicate the success of the banana program in other high-value crops like asparagus, avocado, cacao, calamansi, coffee, dragon fruit, durian, okra, pomelo, and rambutan this year. 

Fruit and peels are the country’s second-largest agricultural exports, with their value in November surging 33% year on year to $244.4 million, the DA said.

Cavendish remains the main export variety of banana, but the cardaba banana (saba) is also driving exports through products such as banana chips, steamed saba, and banana catsup.

The DA said the High-Value Crops Development Program distributed banana planting materials to expand and rejuvenate farms. It also handed out organic fertilizer and biological control agents to improve plant resilience.

The DA said that while the industry is recovering, it still faces threats from Fusarium wilt tropical race 4, or Panama disease, which has affected around 15,500 hectares in the Davao Region.

According to the DA, containment and mitigation of the disease will be critical to sustaining recent gains in banana exports. — Vonn Andrei E. Villamiel