After almost 12 months of delays, Dole Philippines looks set to send the first shipment of Philippine-grown bananas to the US in October.
Philippine Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) director Clarito Barron met with Dole over the weekend and confirmed the details of an initial 3,000 tonne shipment of Cavendish bananas were being finalised.
“Dole already had a program, a plan on the volume of bananas that they will be bringing to continental or mainland USA, particularly in California,” Barron told the Manila Standard Today.
“They are targeting the month of October for the shipment and invited me for a meeting with them but basically all the documents and protocols for the export are already in place.”
Dole Philippines’ initial shipment to the US market was scheduled to be sent in December 2012 but this plan was foiled by typhoon Pablo, which destroyed 14,000ha of banana plantations in the Davao region and the Compostella Valley. Another attempt was made in June this year, however, administrational issues again held up the shipment.
“There were some problems with the work plan and the registry that caused a slight delay but Dole has worked on this,” Barron said.
“There are other interested companies who want to ship (to the US), but they will come later. They must be BPI-accredited exporters.”
Originally planning to supply the US military, Barron said Dole had adjusted it US market focus and was now targeting Philippine-Americans and Philippine workers in California.
