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 F. Piñol said that Guimaras mangoes will be showcased in Belarus, Germany and Russia this coming month of June.
Piñol personally relayed the good news to Governor Samuel T. Gumarin during the DA MANCOM-wide meeting held at Andana Resort at Poblacion, Nueva Valencia, Guimaras last April 22-24, 2019.
“Guimaras is living up to its reputation of being the best mango 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 be bringing along with us a lot of Guimaras mango, coconut, and all other product from the Philippines,” Piñol said.
He shared that when he went to Belarus last March 2019, he made the Honorary Consul taste the mangoes he brought from Guimaras and the official vowed to never taste other mangoes if they are not from the island province.
“I was in Belarus a month ago and nakapuslit kami sang Guimaras mango. And our Honorary Consul there got a piece of Guimaras mango from me. Ginpatilaw ko sa iya. You know what he said? After having this, sabi niya: ‘I’m not going to taste other mangoes anymore’,” he shared.
The DA is opening opportunities for Philippine agricultural products in 22 countries in Eastern Europe with 180 million consumers.
Meantime, a Russian company is ordering two tonnes of Guimaras mango every week and a certain supermarket chain with 12,500 branches across Eastern Europe also expressed interest to market the banner crop of the province.
This milestone also coincides with the theme of Manggahan Festival 2019.
This year’s theme for the celebration is: “Matam-is nga Kadalag-an: Manggahan Festival to the World.”
Piñol assured that the DA is ready to provide the province of Guimaras the needed post harvest facilities as it rise to meet the challenge of the growing demand for its mangoes.
“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 reiterates.
Guimaras mangoes will also be showcased at the Mango Festival at the Department of Agriculture in Manila on May 6-10 of this year.
Gumarin expressed his gratitude to Sec. 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 sincerest support,for yur motivation, your presence and the 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 investmentin the industry. We always highlight mangoes as this is our banner crop. We have gone global and this needs to go on,” Gumarin said.
