AMAVI invests ₱950M to aid PH banana industry via BARMM

Al Muzafar Agriventure Inc., also known as AMAVI Sweet Banana, is investing P950 million to revive a 1,000-hectare Cavendish banana plantation in the municipality of Datu Abdullah Sangki and other towns in the Province of Maguindanao.

The regional Bangsamoro Board of Investments (RBOI) of the Bangsamoro  Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) approved the project’s registration on April 15 and awarded it a 6-year income tax holiday, reduced duties for the importation of capital equipment, exemption from wharfage dues, and additional deductions for labor expenses.

The investment is estimated to generate an annual production of 2 to 3.3 million boxes of Cavendish bananas for export to Japan, China, and the Middle East and is expected to employ up to 1,190 workers, including members of the former separatist group Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) to sustain the Bangsamoro peace process.

“While the bulk of the banana industry is located in the Davao region, parts have been hit by the Panama disease, making them unsuitable for banana planting. The BARMM is considered a prospective area for the planting of Cavendish bananas and could help revive our banana industry,” said RBOI-BARMM Chairman Ishak Mastura. (via Manila Bulletin)

Matsura added that the Cavendish banana is considered a fast-growing and high-value crop due to its export market, generates more employment per hectare than any other industrial crop, and requires low maintenance and a smaller land area compared to other plantation crops.

Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed that fresh bananas recorded the worst dip in terms of the value of exports among the country’s top 10 major commodity groups at -46.9% or $84.659 million (as of January 2021) down from $159.454 million in 2020.

In a separate report, the Department of Agriculture attributed the decline in banana production to the spread of Fusarium wilt, widely known as the Panama disease, a soil-borne fungal disease that attacks the roots of banana plants. The disease turns the leaves of banana plants from green to yellow before eventually wilting. The DA expects that areas infected with Panama disease may have already doubled to 30,000 hectares from the 15,000 hectares identified in 2015.

AMAVI is a wholly-owned Filipino company, with the majority of investors from within the Bangsamoro led by Datu Michael Abas Kida.

SOURCE: Manila Bulletin, Mindanews