THE PHILIPPINE Exporters Confederation XI (Philexport Davao) and the Philippine Banana Council, Inc. (PhilBana Council) will invite 400 banana growers, exporters, processors, and traders to the Banana Conference and Trade Exhibit 2025 (BANCON) to continue strengthening the country’s banana industry.
BANCON 2025 will be held at the SMX Convention Center, SM Lanang, from Nov. 5 to 6.
Philexport Davao executive director Marizon Loreto hopes that this year’s conference will engage the private sector, together with the government, to deliberate on strategic actions to expand the banana market reach, as well as address different challenges of the industry, similar to last year’s BANCON.
The conference will also be a platform to showcase innovative technologies, support services, and banana products with value-added features.
According to Stephen Antig, executive director of the Pilipino Banana Growers and Exporters Association, Inc. (PBGEA), the Philippines’ market share of bananas has been going down in the last 10 to 12 years due to the competition posed by neighboring Southeast Asian and Latin American countries.
The banana production and exportations also plummeted due to climate change, infestation of pests and disease, and high production costs.
William Castro, president of Mindanao Banana Farmers and Exporters Association, Inc. (MBFEA), highlighted that over 80,000 hectares in Mindanao had dropped to about 40 to 50 percent in the banana industry in terms of the Cavendish banana.
“This is one of the reasons why we are trying to promote and do all these kinds of events like this BANCON to help our growers to sustain their farms to give them more technical know-how to upgrade those sustaining agricultural practices, to go back to the position where we had been before,” said during Wednesday’s Habi at Kape media forum.
Castro said that the Philippine banana’s export market share in China is currently at 27%, and they hope to increase it some more.
