Banana export push to focus on containing Panama disease, boosting market access

AGRICULTURE SECRETARY Francisco P. Tiu Laurel, Jr. said he hopes to arrest the decline in banana exports by focusing on the containment of Panama disease and improving overseas market access.

In a statement, the Department of Agriculture (DA) quoted Mr. Laurel as saying at the 32nd Joint General Assembly of the Philippine Banana Growers and Exporters Association and the Banana Export Industry Foundation that Fusarium wilt tropical race 4 (Panama disease) was the industry’s most urgent threat, affecting around 15,500 hectares in the Davao Region, endangering the main export variety, the Cavendish banana.

Under the High Value Crops Development Program for 2025, the DA plans to distribute banana planting materials and organic planting materials to expand and rejuvenate farms.

The DA will also deploy biological control agents such as Trichoderma to protect plant health and reduce postharvest losses, the DA said.

He noted that Vietnam has overtaken the Philippines as China’s top banana supplier, while Philippine exports to Japan continue to face higher tariffs than those from Vietnam, Mexico, and Peru.

“Unless these inequities are addressed, our market share will remain at risk,” Mr. Laurel warned, urging continued advocacy for fairer trade terms in the upcoming review of the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement.

He also cited the need for research on disease tolerance, breeding strategies, and new technologies such as gene editing to secure the industry’s long-term viability.