Tupas pushes for mango as premier product of Iloilo

Iloilo province will make a bid not only as honest of the 2006 Mango Congress, but also aggressively push for mango as a major agricultural product and income earner for local farmers, Iloilo governor Niel D. Tupas, Sr. said yesterday.

MANGO IS SWEET. Iloilo Gov. Neil D. Tupas, Sr. gestures as he discusses the state of the local mango industry with officials of the Iloilo Mango Growers Cooperative. Beside him are Tony Villaruel and Renato Florencio, president of the Philippine Mango Industry Foundation Inc.

Tupas made this commitment during a meeting with the Iloilo Mango Growers Cooperative as he directed Provincial Agriculturist Inocencio “Tiong” Parian to prepare a provincial mango development plan and help propel the industry to achieve its full potential.

“I am myself a mango farmer,” Tupas told the cooperative's board of directors, “and I know that your industry can earn billions of pesos for the local economy.”

During the meeting, Renato Florencio, president of the Philippine Mango Industry Foundation Inc., urged local mango growers to strengthen this sector and establish Iloilo as one of the top three producers of mango in the country.

At present, the country's mango industry supplies a mere 3.5% of the world market, earning between $35 to 50 million in exports to the United States, Australia, Japan and Saudi Arabia, Florencio said.

Tupas said he wants to “put Iloilo on the mango map of the world” and build a big market for locally-produced mango.

Iloilo is ranked number seven in terms of production in the entire Philippines.

Parian reported that new mango plantations have sprung up in the northern towns of Iloilo, particularly Anilao, Barotac Nuevo, Sara and Lemery.

“We have a big area that is suitable for mango,” Parian said.

Tupas asked the cooperative to encourage investors to put up a mango processing plant in Iloilo and provide local growers with a stable market for their produce.

There are four mango processing plants in Guimaras, but Iloilo mangoes could not be processed there because of the tight quarantine imposed in the island province against mango seed weevil.

Ben Jimena, executive assistant to City Mayor Jerry Treñas, also expressed the full support of the city government for Iloilo's bid to host the 2006 Mango Congress.