Philippine authorities are planning to develop vapour heat treatment (VHT) procedures for several fruits, targeting exports to Japan and South Korea.
The country’s Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) said earlier this week it would develop VHT procedures for dragon fruit, mangosteen and avocados. Only papaya and mangoes currently have VHT protocols in the Philippines, reported Business World.
“Target markets for these fruits are Japan and Korea, which require the VHT for quarantine treatment,” said BPI director Larry R Lacson.
“Funding for the development of the protocols that will amount to around PHP1.5m (US$32,500) will come from BPI and the Bureau of Agricultural Research.”
The Bureau will also spend PHP2m (US$43,400) developing VHT protocols next year for bell peppers (capsicums), cantaloupe (rockmelon) and squash.
