ZAMBOANGA CITY -- Government researchers are looking into extending the shelf life of mango from just about a week to 30 days, an official of the Bureau of Plant Industry told BusinessWorld at the weekend.

If successful, mango exports could rise significantly since growers could sell their produce to distant markets as well as cut cost by shifting to sea freight.

Dr. Hernani G. Golez of the Bureau of Plant Industry said government scientists are looking into ways of extending the mango shelf life to 29 days.

"Normally the fruit's shelf life is between 8 to 9 days after harvest and that is the reason why local mango export is limited around Asia. The ongoing research hopefully can be the solution to further expand the Philippine mango's export market," he told BusinessWorld.

"The objectives of the mango sea freight study is to extend the shelf life of mangoes and maintaining the quality through the use of modified atmosphere packing system using zeolite film and the controlled atmosphere during the transportation phase of the export process."

He said both systems work similarly by delaying the ripening process of the fruit through controlled level of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the container. "Controlled atmosphere works on the same principle as modified atmosphere whereby oxygen levels are reduced and carbon dioxide levels are increased, thus reducing the respiration rate of the fruit."

The main difference with the two systems is that in controlled atmosphere the gas levels are set when the container is sealed by scrubbing the oxygen out and pumping carbon dioxide into the container.

With modified atmosphere, the levels are achieved through the natural respiration of the fruit, which may take several days to achieve the desired levels.

The main advantage of controlled atmosphere containers is that it comes as a complete unit with good sealing and little leakage of gas. The gas levels within the container can be monitored constantly throughout the journey and altered if needed.

Mr. Golez said three other researches on mango would be available in the next few years. There is the "Enhancing the export competitiveness of fresh Philippine super mango," which is a joint project with the United States Department of Agriculture.

The P107-million research will look into the technical and economic feasibility of using irradiation as an alternative disinfestation treatment of two species of fruit flies and the mango pulp weevil with the aim of expanding mango export to the US, other than Guimaras island, as source.

Another research study is funded by the Australian Center for International Agriculture Research entitled "Integrated pest management, mango supply chain and marketing," which aims at formulating interventions for mango diseases to help farmers in the provinces and cities of the Davao region, Giumaras and Palawan. The study will start in June next year with a A$270,000 funding.

The third study, entitled "Survey of pulp/seed weevil in Mindanao," is also being funded by the Australian government through its aid program and is expected to be initiated in January. The study, which would be supported by an A$300,000 funding, will further detect the presence and absence of pulp/seed weevil in Mindanao's mangoes, specifically in Zamboanga, Davao and Cotabato.

The adoption of the good agriculture practices among mango industry participants was one of the resolutions presented during the seventh National Mango Congress on Nov. 24-26 at the Zamboanga Garden Orchid Hotel, which was attended by about 300 mango growers and farmers nationwide.

Rex Rivera, vice-president for Mindanao of the Philippine Mango Industry Foundation, Inc., said such measures should be applied after Japanese authorities found excessive residue of the pesticide chlorpyrifos on fresh mangoes.

"With the stricter environmental and health regulations imposed by exporters of Philippine mangoes, the industry will need to improve its handling system, especially in using chemicals, to meet global standards," he said.

He added that the lack of updated knowledge on good agriculture practices is one of the major concerns in the mango industry.

Others include the emergence of environmental and health requirements like the problems on sanitary and phytosanitary, which gave rise to barriers against exports.

In a resolution, the mango industry said the protocol on good agriculture practices should be applied by stakeholders, and that only farms using such scheme and following its protocol should be considered as suppliers and buyers whether for export or for processing.

To hasten good agriculture practices, the mango industry urged the government to strengthen the National Mango Research and Development Center in Giumaras to lead in the implementation and replication in the different mango-growing provinces through satellite research stations in mango-growing areas, particularly in Ilocos and Central Luzon, Western and Central Visayas, Zamboanga Peninsula,and Southern Mindanao

During the congress, Rene A. Florencio, the foundation's president, said that only 20% of the total mango production is exported.

He noted that overseas buyers have stricter standards than are currently accepted within the domestic market.

"Constant education and training in good agricultural practices and other sanitary standards will lead to better yields, pesticide use in accordance with regulations, and a more efficient supply chain," he said.

Bureau of Agricultural Statistics figures for 2003 showed that the bulk of the regional production of mango comes from Luzon with at least 71% of total production, followed by Mindanao (17%) and Visayas (12%).

Mango growers are being classified into three: backyard growers, commercial growers and corporate farms. The Department of Agriculture said more than half of the mango supply comes from backyard growers who each owns five to 20 fruit-bearing trees.

This is followed by commercials growers, entrepreneurs who are mostly based in urban areas, covering roughly 40% of the mango supply, and corporate farms that have integrated production and processing operations or export their produce to foreign markets through their exclusive marketing arms.

Mr. Rivera said mango growers in a developing country suffer various problems in competing in the global market, aside from the lack of knowledge on good agriculture practices.

He said other problems include no direct linkage between exporters and producers, poor packaging and post-harvesting handling, poor infrastructure and support system, lack of good quality raw materials, lack of system of standardization and quality assurance, and high compliance cost.

The industry is also encouraging other growers and farmers to adopt organic farming practices, citing Mindanao as the lead.

Mr. Rivera said Mindanao is starting to produce organic mango to cater to the growing world demand for healthy food through a "natural organic and biological farming system."

"Natural farming will not only free us from relying too much on the expensive imported synthetic materials, but we are learning the laws of Mother Nature, protect the environment, preserve the ecosystem and biodiversity as well. The more important aspect is we can produce superior quality mango, free from toxic chemical residue at lower cost with renewable inputs we can produce right in our farms," he said.

High transport and logistics cost is believed to be one of the factors for the limited access of mangoes in the international market.

Since all commercial export of mango is through air freight, sea freight was identified as an alternative transport mode that theoretically provides lower overall landed costs to targeted markets in the Middle East and Europe.

"The mango industry is looking forward to alternative use of boats and big vessels as the prime mode of shipment in exporting mangoes throughout world," Mr. Rivera said.

During the congress, Mr. Golez of the Bureau of Plant Industry said sea freight of mangoes is an important facet in the long-term competitiveness of mango exports.

It provides an alternative transport option to air freight and has the ability to move large quantities at any one time to longdistance markets that traditionally has only been handled by air. Furthermore, sea freight will provide a lower landed cost that could see the Philippines' export performance improve.

The Philippines is sixth in world mango production, contributing 4% to world supply. Data from the Department of Agriculture also showed that mango is the third important fruit export next to banana and pineapple.

In 2003, total export of mango in all forms was 54,756 metric tons with a gross value of approximately at $59.4 million. Fresh mangoes constitute 52.20% of the total.