Guimaras mango cleared to enter to Aussie, US market

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By Trina Leah Mendoza

guimaras mango world class The carabao mango that made the Western Visayas Island-province of Guimaras famous has created an appetizing first-bite impression among Australians, the Mango Information Network under the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resources Research and Development (PCARRD) reported.

The news started with a taste-test held at the Philippine Embassy in Canberra, Australia where it was served to some 300 guests. The Guimaras carabao mango which is commercially known here as Philippine super mangoes is reputed for its excellent aroma, firm and almost fiber-free flesh and thin seeds that makes it mouth watering.

The Australian government has cleared the Guimaras mango’s entry to its market after strict quarantine requirements were met. Mangoes coming from the island are certified free of seed and pulp weevils.

This development was built on a decade-long research and development effort of a local research team led by Dr. Hernani Golez and senior agriculturist Helen Bignayan. Golez heads the Bureau of Plant Industry’s National Mango Research and Development Center in Jourdan, the capital town of Guimaras.

Golez?s team proved that larvae of the two-pesky fruitfly species on the island called Bactrocera philippensis and B. occipitalis cannot survive vapor heat treatment at 46^OC for 10 minutes. This finding proved critical in meeting quarantine restrictions in Australia.

The first 1.2-ton shipment of “super mangoes” landed in Sydney in May. Guimaras mango growers are optimistic that they can export big volumes of the prized tropical delight between July to August when Australian consumer demand is expected to be high, PCARRD disclosed.

Meanwhile, Agriculture Secretary Leonardo Montemayor also disclosed that the US Department of Agriculture has already given the green light for Guimaras mango to enter the US markets.