Typhoon Fengshen, which tore through the Philippines at the weekend, has disrupted the supply and distribution of fresh produce across the archipelago, according to local industry sources, though they predict that the impact will be short-lived.
The typhoon has claimed more than 360 lives and caused widespread damage across the country, with initial government estimates putting the damage to agricultural crops and infrastructure at 4.27bn pesos.
Michael Aguilar of Santag, a local vegetable importer, said the typhoon has pushed up vegetable prices by 10-12 per cent as supplies have been disrupted, though he forecast that the market would return to normal fairly soon. “The typhoon swept the central Philippines and also hit the island of Luzon hard. Its coverage was wide and the only island that was not really affected was Mindanao,” he told Fruitnet. “Fresh produce production and supplies have been affected across many islands and produce is currently unavailable from some regions.”
But the disruption to domestic supplies is unlikely to boost demand for imported vegetables, Mr Aguilar added, particularly as the quality of items like broccoli and cauliflower from Mindanao is now “compatible with Australian imports”.
Meanwhile, Jimmy Ngo of Columbia Fruit said that the main area of the fruit import business to be impacted by the typhoon was logistics. Sulpicio Lines, the shipping firm that owns the MV Princess of the Stars ferry, which capsized in the storms, has grounded its services. “Sulpicio offers the most efficient service to different parts of the country and other domestic carriers are fully booked, so securing cargo space to ship fruit around the country’s many islands is very difficult,” he noted. “We’re having to find alternative ways of transporting produce, such as airfreight.”
Mr Ngo added that the import market was going through a seasonal lull. “Sales are steady,” he said. “We’re still handling California oranges and there are lots of Chilean grapes in storage.”
