DTI Davao partners with private sector in creating banana recipes

The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) here has partnered with the private sector in creating a number of banana recipes in a bid to widen the industry’s opportunities for investors.
The various banana food creations were introduced to the public, especially to the potential investors, during the opening Wednesday of the two-day Mindanao Banana Congress at the SMX Convention Center here.
DTI Davao Regional Director Marizon S. Loreto said by value-adding, more consumers will be enticed to patronize banana products since they will get to enjoy products other than the traditional ones such as banana chips and banana crunch.
“Recently, we have trained a number of women in the processing of banana,” she said, adding that the department has asked the help of Mary Ann M. Montemayor, owner of Villa Margarita Hotel and Davao Industry Cluster Capacity Enhancement Project (DICCEP) tourism industry cluster chair.
Loreto said more women in the region will be trained to produce food derivatives like banana chicken salad wrap, banana chocolate cake with banana chip streusel, banana choco cream trifle, banana rum brownies, fresh fruit taco, and banana oatmeal cookies.
Per data of the National Statistics Office (NSO), the dominant product forms of banana are fresh (Cavendish) and banana chips (saba/cardava), which generated aggregate earnings of US$ 360 million in 2010, or about 99 percent of the total banana export earnings. [PNA]