Wow - So cool - Mango Growers Association in the Press!

PIA Press Release
Tuesday, August 09, 2011

Conditional lifting of mango quarantine sought

PUERTO PRINCESA CITY, August 9 (PIA) -- The conditional lifting of the Palawan mango quarantine is being sought in a provincial resolution authored by the Provincial Board Member Derrick Pablico, Chairman of the Committee on Agriculture and Aquatic Resources.

The resolution appeals to Department of Agriculture (DA) Secretary Proceso J. Alcala to favorably act on the petition of the Mango Growers Association of Palawan which urges for the regulated or conditional lifting of the mango quarantine.

The quarantine on all Palawan mangoes is in effect by virtue of the Special Quarantine Administrative Order No. 20 of the Bureau of Plant Industry issued in 1987.

The quarantine was imposed at the start of the mango pulp weevil infestation which was affecting the southern municipalities of the province. The quarantine restricts until today the transport and marketing of locally-produced mangoes outside of the province.

The resolution reasons that recent scientific and technological breakthroughs in the mango pulp weevil research attest to the fact that the infestation can be controlled and pest-free verification and certification of Palawan mangoes is already possible.`

Scientifically known as Sternochetus frigidus (Fabr), mango pulp weevil is that “wormy” thing found inside the mango fruit that burrows and attacks the flesh of the fruit. There are no signs of the weevil on the outside of the fruit. The pest is found only in Palawan in the Philippines, and in Indonesia, Thailand, and Malaysia.

The petitioner, Mango Growers Association of Palawan, has an inventory of 248,000 mature mango trees in the entire province which produce only 20-25% of their potential yield because growers have limited market due to the quarantine.

The 24-year quarantine has already resulted to billion-peso losses in income and thousands in potential jobs.

The association is also seeking for the establishment of integrated mango processing/packing center to ensure the non-destructive screening and certification of mango pulp weevil-free fruits.

The provincial resolution is now under study in the Committee on Agriculture and Aquatic Resources and Committee on Rules and Laws. (vsm/pia-palawan)

YES!!!!      I am empowering and helping to effect change!!  YAHOO!!!