GUIMARAS – The province of Guimaras is poised to stamp its name in Eastern Europe with the entry of its mangoes in the markets of the said territory.
Department of Agriculture (DA) secretary Emmanuel Piñol said Guimaras mangoes will be showcased in Belarus, Germany and Russia this June.
Piñol relayed the good news to Gov. Samuel Gumarin during a meeting at Poblacion, Nueva Valencia, Guimaras last April 22-24.
The DA chief said the province is living its reputation “of having the best mangoes in the world.”
“Guimaras is living up to its reputation of having the best mangoes in the world. Wherever I go, I take pride in telling the story about an island in the Central Visayas where mangoes are the sweetest. We are going back to Belarus come June 4-9 and we will bring Guimaras mangoes, coconuts, and other products of the Philippines,” Piñol said.
He added the Honorary Consul of Belarus last March tasted mangoes from the province and the official vowed “to never taste other mangoes if it were not from Guimaras.”
The DA opened opportunities for Philippine agricultural products in 22 countries in Eastern Europe with 180-million consumers.
A Russian company ordered two tons of Guimaras mangoes every week and a certain supermarket chain with 12,500 branches across Eastern Europe expressed interest to market the banner crop of the province.
Piñol assured the DA was ready to provide the province of Guimaras the post-harvest facilities as it rise to meet the challenges of a growing demand.
“In view of this development, kun ano ang kinahanglan sang Guimaras nga suporta in terms of post-harvest facilities, we will be happy to give you that,” he said.
Guimaras mangoes will be showcased at the Mango Festival of DA in Manila on May 6-10.
Gumarin expressed his gratitude to secretary Piñol and to the Department of Agriculture for the assistance in attaining efficient production of its mangoes and other agricultural products.
“Thank you for your words of encouragement to the local leaders especially all our 7,931 mango growers to continue to forge a partnership towards keeping the efficient production and attaining increased investment in the industry,” Gumarin said.
“We always highlight mangoes as this is our banner crop. We have gone global and this needs to go on,” he added.
Guimaras is yet to celebrate its Manggahan Festival 2019 with the theme: “Matam-is nga Kadalag-an: Manggahan Festival to the World.”/PN
