Philippine damage estimates from last week’s Typhoon Bopha landfall have been updated, with damage to the banana crop now pegged at P7.4bn (US$181m), according to the country’s Department of Agriculture.
That estimate is an increase from the earlier figure putting the damage at P6.43bn (US$157m), reported The Inquirer.
Department of Agriculture estimates of the area of banana plantations damaged by Typhoon Bopha, known locally as Pablo, has also increased to 18,959ha, reported Gulf News.
The huge losses have been further underlined this week with the release of October growth figures for the Philippine economy, which saw resurgence in banana export earnings.
Figures from the Philippines’ National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) for October put banana export earnings growth at 101.9 per cent.
“The growth in banana exports, which contributed about 1.2 percentage points to overall export increase, reflects positive expectations of global demand, specifically from China, which is seen to buy more food products due to the approaching winter season,” said the organisation’s officer in charge Rolando G Tungpalan.
