The Department of Agriculture (DA) on Monday said it is coordinating with various government counterparts to secure more export agreements for Philippine agricultural products, including rice, durian, and mangoes.

This came after President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. expressed hope of making Philippine tropical fruit available in New Zealand during his bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Christopher Luxon in Laos at the sidelines of the 44th and 45th ASEAN Summit and Related Summits.

“Actually, iyong sinasabi sa bilateral [meeting], mayroong rice trade atsaka mga ibang produkto like (what has been discussed in the bilateral includes rice trade and other products like) durian for example, that’s going to be exported to New Zealand. So, ito iyong mga bagong (this is the new) development,” DA Undersecretary for Operations Roger Navarro said in an interview.

He said the DA also aims to export good quality mangoes from Zambales and Guimaras.

“Ang gusto natin talaga iyong mango natin (What we wanted for our mangoes is) we’ll be able to export it to other countries kasi napakaganda ng quality ng mango natin (because the quality of our mangoes is really good) aside from all other commodities,” Navarro added.

He noted that there is a demand for Philippine mangoes in Australia, the United States, and other countries.

To date, he said the DA is coordinating with the World Trade Organization (WTO) to comply with requisitions to realize the country’s target exports. (PNA)