MANILA, 14 October 2005 — Mango producers in the southern Philippines can now heave a sigh of relief as Japan has ended restrictions on the country’s biggest mango exporter, the Department of Agriculture has said.
Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare imposed a 100 percent inspection order on mangoes exported by Marsman Drysdale Food Corporation last June after detecting Chlorpyrifos chemical residue exceeding the limit from fresh mangoes exported by company.
The order lengthened the processing and clearance to one week, resulting in shorter shelflife of mango and loss of revenues from the producers. Most of Marsman Drysdale’s mangoes come from the island of Mindanao in the southern Philippines.
Agriculture Secretary Domingo Panganiban said Japan eased the restriction last week after the DA’s Bureau of Plant Industry placed corrective measures.
“This is a welcome development,” Panganiban said, adding that Philippine mango growers and exporters should learn a lesson from Drysdale’s experience. He urged mango growers to follow strictly the RP-Japan mango export protocol to avoid similar problems in the future.
A team of Philippine residue analysts was sent to Japan to compare the procedures being conducted by both countries to further improve the detection procedures, Panganiban said.
A series of field investigation followed that resulted in putting up of corrective measures to prevent similar incidents.
The corrective measures include voluntary pre-harvest residue analysis, increasing the quality control inspectors in the fields and farmer seminars, among others.
Philippine mangoes are favored by the United States and Japan, where the variety commands a good price.