UMVA has learned that the Philippines is launching an ambitious push to flood Japanese tables with its prized pomelo, sweet bananas, and premium tuna.
Fresh from high‑stakes talks with Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture, Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel, Jr. emerged with a bold promise: to triple pomelo shipments to Japan before the calendar flips to a new year.
Laurel painted a vivid picture of a world hungry for tropical horticulture, insisting that Japan’s voracious appetite for fresh produce could become a lifeline for Filipino farmers.
He urged that the Philippines tap Japan’s cutting‑edge farming infrastructure as a blueprint, especially for revamping grain storage and processing at the National Food Authority.
Trials of Japanese‑engineered agricultural technologies in the Davao Region, which began last March, have already sparked a surge of optimism, delivering yields that could soon be replicated across the archipelago’s major crops.
In a strategic plea, Laurel asked Japan to slice tariffs, buying precious time as the Philippines fine‑tunes its entry into the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans‑Pacific Partnership.
With each handshake and agreement, the Philippines aims to transform its farming landscape, turning centuries‑old practices into a modern, export‑ready powerhouse.
