Following last month’s devastating typhoon, which hit the main Philippines island of Luzon, members of the Philippine Banana Growers and Exporters Association based in Mindanao shipped 75 tonnes of bananas as food relief for victims in Metro Manila and nearby provinces.
PBGEA member Betty Francia told the Philippine Daily Inquirer that 7,500 boxes of bananas had been shipped to Luzon in two batches sent by Solid Shipping Lines and Aboitiz Transport System.
The Association said that members Tagum Agricultural Development, Sumifru, Lapanday Foods, FS Dizon & Sons, AM Soriano, Marsman-Drysdale and Unifrutti had donated the bananas.
According to the Philippine Daily Inquirer, PBGEA members elected to ship export-quality bananas after hearing that evacuation centres were lacking in fresh food, in part because many crops in Central and Northern Luzon were destroyed by floods or could not be delivered due to landslides.
