by Jims Vincent Capuno
The Philippines is one of the world’s top producers of mango. The country is known for its “Manila Super Mango” because of its taste which until now is “still unmatched.” Former agriculture secretary Leonardo Q. Montemayor said the country’s mango has found its way in the Guinness Book of Records as the sweetest of its kind in the world.
For sure, the Philippine mango is one of the country’s sources of pride. It is known for “its striking yellow peel and flesh, ambrosial scent, and most importantly, its distinctly sweet yet slightly tart flavor,” to quote the words of Trina Leah Mendoza of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST).
One of the best sources of mango in the Philippines is Davao. In fact, some growers in Davao are now exporting mango to other parts of the world, particularly Japan.
Ninety-percent of the country’s exports of the fruit consists fresh mango; the remaining 10 percent are in processed form like puree, jam, dehydrated, and dried mangoes. “The dried mango fruit from the Philippines was the best I had ever tasted,” observed Dr. Martin Hirte, a German health food researcher who authored The Benefits of Mango on Human Health.
Most mango exports come from Guimaras Island. However, the province is not among the country’s top mango producers. The top producers are Pangasinan (29 percent), Isabela (14 percent), Negros Occidental, Zamboanga del Norte, and Nueva Vizcaya (4 percent each), Bulacan, Iloilo, and South Cotabato (3 percent each), and Cebu (2 percent).
Mango growers are classified into three: backyard growers, commercial growers and corporate farms. The agriculture department said more than half of the mango supply comes from backyard growers (those who own five to 20 fruit-bearing trees). This is followed by commercials growers, entrepreneurs who are mainly based in urban areas, covering roughly 40% of the mango supply, and corporate farms that have integrated production and processing operations or export their produce to foreign markets through their exclusive marketing arms.
The Davao-based Southern Mindanao Integrated Agricultural Research Center (SMIARC) of the Department of Agriculture considers mango as “a high value crop.” It gives this bit of information: A conservative estimate in yield of young productive trees (5-10 years old) ranges from 53-188 kilograms per tree. At a planting distance of 10 by 10 meters, a hectare consists of 100 trees which means it gives a total yield of about 18.8 tons. If sold at only P12 per kilo (ex-farm gate), a farmer willrealize a gross income of about P225,600 per hectare.
Freshly harvested but mature green Philippine mango commands even a higher price ranging from P15 a kilo during heavy harvest season (March to June) to P40 a kilo during the lean months ((July to December).
Unlike other fruits which are edible only at the ripe stage, mango has specific uses in all its stages of development. Immature or green mango could be used as a salad ingredient, appetizer, or as unfermented fruit or juice. Mature or ripe mango can be pickled or served as table fruit, and made into beverages or confectioneries like jam, candy pulp, ice cream, mango pie mix, and others.
The Philippines is sixth in world mango production, contributing 4% to world supply. Data from the agriculture department show that mango ranks third as the most important fruit in the country in terms of volume of production and area after banana and pineapple.
Although the Philippines is a major mango exporting country, its average annual production of 1.4 million metric tons still lags behind India (10.8 million metric tons), China (3.62 million metric tons), Thailand (1.72 million metric tons), and Pakistan (1.7 million metric tons). —
