DTI-11 Lists 2015’s Big Winners in Export in Davao Region

Five exporting companies in Davao region were the top big winners in export industry with a total value of USD 1,268,212,580.66 in the last three quarters of 2015.

The list of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) in Region 11 showed Dole Philippines with the highest export valued at USD 212,689,868.50 sharing 17 percent to the total export value.

This is followed by Sumifru Corporation with USD 155,106,451.95 or 12 percent of the total export value; Davao Bay Coconut Oil Mills, Inc. with USD 78,769,621.56 or 6 percent of the total export value; New Davao Oil Mills, Inc. also within the 6 percent rate or an export value amounting to USD 69,818,199.60 and Tagum Agricultural Development, Co., Inc. with 5 percent or USD 58,763,091.73.

DTI-11 Regional Director Maria Belinda Ambi said the value of exported commodities in the region slightly declined to USD 1.268 billion during the three quarters of 2015 from USD 1.282 billion on the same period in 2014. “We hope that our export commodities will further increase,” she said.

Ambi also identified the top export destinations with Japan as the region’s top market with exported products valued at USD 179,922,913.57; followed by Australia with export products valued at USD 178,221.130.98; China – USD 156,825,797.36; Thailand – USD 80,550,532.95 and Netherlands at USD 78,850,701.33.

Despite facing difficulties in 2015, Ambi said banana (fresh cavendish) is still the top exported commodity sharing 53 percent of the total export followed by coconut oil (refined/organic/virgin/crude/cochin) of 17 percent, then fresh pineapple with 7 percent export share.

The other export commodities are desiccated coconut (6 percent); banana chips (3 percent); gold and silver (3 percent); activated carbon (2 percent); nickel, nickel laterite ore (2 percent); rubber (cup lump natural/wet cup lump) (2 percent), and coconut water (1 percent).

According to Ambi, the emerging export commodity winners under the DTI-11 priority industry clusters are banana, cacao, mango and coconut.

She said the exported banana commodity types are fresh Cavendish bananas, banana chips, banana seedlings, banana puree, banana (frozen/saba), banana turon with ube, banana packaging, banana sliced and banana powder.

Under cacao cluster is the cocoa beans while for mango are the mango sliced and mango dried.

Ambi said coconut export products have ten types namely, coconut oil (refined/organic/ virgin/crude/cochin), coconut (dessicated), Coconut water, Coco peat/ coco coir coco powder, Coco shell charcoal, Coco fiber, Coconut milk, Coco sugar (organic), Coconut shell brique, Coconut (fresh/young), and Coco fatty acid.

The DTI regional director noted that the region started to export coconut water last year but has already emerged among the top ten export commodity products. It was only last year when the region started to export the commodity.

In DTI’s preliminary annual performance from January to October, the volume of coconut water exported reached 1.99 million kilograms valued at USD 6.875 million.

“The first world countries are now into coconut water for health reasons,” Ambi said.

In 2014, the total export in Davao region was valued at USD 1.78 billion during the first three quarters representing 99.2 percent of the annual target of USD 1.8 billion.

The year 2014 also saw an increase in the total export value of banana in Davao region by 29.5 percent or from USD 691.3 million in 2013 to USD 895.2 million in 2014 during the first three quarters. (PNA) LAP/LCM/DIGNA D. BANZON/LDP/EDS