Davao City Durian Industry Council (DCDIC) president Emmanuel Belviz bared that three of their members are waiting for their China Import Food Enterprise Registration (CIFER) approval that will eventually allow them export frozen Davao durian to the People’s Republic of China.
Belviz, owner of Belviz Farms, said on Friday that the local exporters are Eng Seng Food Products, SQ Fresh Fruit Corp., and D’ Farmers Market Fruits and Pastries Center.
CIFER, a registration system for food importers, is a primary requirement for businesses before they could export food products to the Chinese market.
“The exporters are holding on for the approval of their China Import Food Enterprise Registration (CIFER). China just approved and allowed the export of frozen fruits just last month. Marami na tayong exporters na nag-apply but hindi pa sila na approve so they are still waiting. Any companies exporting food to China must register with CIFER. Once registered they can directly export to China with frozen fruits,” Belviz explained.
Belviz shared that Thailand, so far, is the No.1 buyer of frozen durian with 3,129,067.50 kilograms this year and the Philippines has exported 185,664 kilograms to South Korea and 25,650 kilograms to Malaysia.
“I think mas marami pang ma-export na frozen durian because the exporters are holding on, usually after the season doon na sila nagpapadala,” he said.
Meanwhile, Belviz said their data showed that from January to September 2024, they already exported 9,295.253 metric tons of fresh durian to China followed by Singapore with 55.70 metric tons and Japan with 184.25 kilograms.
Fresh durian is also exported to Hong Kong(32.40 kilograms), Malaysia (35 kilograms), USA (200 kilograms) and Hawaii (2 kilograms).
“Durian season is still ongoing. We still have to harvest from high elevation areas like Tamayong and Sirib,” said Belviz, pointing out that China still remains the biggest market for the Davao durian.
In April last year, the Department of Agriculture in Davao Region (DA-11) shipped out 18 metric tons of durian to China following the signing of the bilateral agreement on the protocol of Philippine fresh durian to the People’s Republic of China during the state visit of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on January 3, 2023.
