Thursday, October 25, 2007

Mindanao fruits are now available in Cebu

Cebu, Philippines (22 October) -- With the success of the launching of the Mindanao fruits at the Bagsakan Centers in Metro Manila earlier this month, Mindanao fruit growers have brought their products to Cebu through the Durian Festival at SM.

The Mindanao Fruit Industry Development Council (MFIDC) had forged a tie-up with the Aboitiz-owned forwarder for the shipment of Mindanao fruits to Cebu via the RORO system to cut down on spoilage and transit time.

The Minfruit Council director Benjamin Roy said, the forwarder 2GO is looking at a viable system to efficiently ship fresh durian and other fruits from Mindanao to Cebu and Manila to ensure competitive prices.

Recently, the Minfruit Council and the Durian Industry Council organized the "Durian ug uban Pa" festival at SM-Cebu to showcase the Mindanao Durian and other tropical fruits.

Roy added that the festival is part of the council's efforts and the Dept. of Agriculture (DA) to raise the demand of Durian and other fruits from Mindanao and to encourage more people to eat Durian and other fruits to develop a long term demand.

According the DA-7, with the coming in of Mindanao fruits, Cebu will now experience cheaper fruits such as Durian, Lanzones, Marang, Mangosteen and others. Prices of Durian 2-3 years ago were at P100-150/kilo today, a kilo is now priced at P60. The same with other Mindanao fruits, the DA added.

Cebu fruit vendors that joined the festival at SM were happy with the developments saying that they have experienced good earnings from Durian and other Mindanao fruits. Consumers were curious and wanted to sample the much touted Mindanao Durian, Marang, rambutan and mangosteen, the vendors said. (PIA-Cebu/MBCN)

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