Hello everyone. Im Ross and Im new here. Im a uk citizen married to a filipina and we are currently living in Davao but moving to Hebden bridge in west Yorkshire soon. My question is - Can you get all filipino fruits in the north of uk or anywhere in uk for that matter. I have a friend in Davao who exports philippjne fruits to Italy and he wants to try importing to the UK if there is a market for it, so what's your experience in getting hold of fruits. It includes Durian if your crazy enough to eat it. Lol.
I have never seen durian here in oriental supermarkets but it's possible to get hold of lychee and others. As you know, many things like mango, papaya and pineapple are mainstream and available anywhere
Thanks for the info guys.. I'm thinking there is a possibility to import a huge range of fruits and a cheaper price. What about casava bananas ? Any info on any missing fruits would be appreciated.
I would support anyone who would like to venture export of fruits from ph to the Uk. The main concerns are the following: - transport and time in transit. I used to work for banana company in davao and exporting (cavendish) banana to the UK would be challenging. Currently it is only done via sea freight and the farthest so far is the middle east with around 20 days transit (until it reaches the port and additional 5 days until it reaches the market). We tried to ship it to st Petersburg at one point that it would mean cutting the fruit too young or it would arrive too ripe. Hence african or south american bananas are more common than ph variety in the uk market. It goes with nearly the same tropical fruits which freshness is key to quality. - diseases- due to the loose borders that ph has (poor country with sea boarder longer than the US), a lot of fruits have diseases and thus quarantine requirement needs to be strictly followed. I know this is the case for the ph mango (it is better than indian/pakistani or african variety) but we cant export fresh variety except for those coming from guimaras island. So i am not sure how it is for coconuts and durian etc. So majority of the fruits are exported but not the fresh one. We get the dried fruits or processed or its derivatives like coconut oil etc. I know these are all hindrances but as they say, if there is a will there is a way. I also know that the UK are looking for new and increased trading partners and ph is one of those that can benefit with this expanded horizon. Goodluck!
Mangos are generally from Africa with the more expensive ones coming from India; Papaya comes from central America (and Mexico) whilst pineapple and bananas come from the Caribbean and central and south America. No fresh fruit from the Philippines due to disease concerns, transportation time and costs. That's a pity because Philippine pineapples have the best taste - but you can buy small tubs of fresh pineapple in juice, Dole brand, in Tesco and Sainsbury which did originate in the Philippies. Expensive mind!
I would have expected that a filipino business would have more luck exporting fresh fruit to Australia or West coast USA. I feel that transport time to the UK and cost too prohibitive neglecting the other concerns.
Thank you for your replies. I will be seeing my friend in a few days. Somehow he has managed to export most fruits to Milan but we only had a short discussion on it Over a beer so i can update you with new information soon. It would be nice to supply the fruits that people miss so much. I miss my uk foods so i know how that feels.
Absolutely! I grew up with papaya, mangosteen, rambutan, durian, avocado, native banana and mango in our backyard (plus some other tropical fruits that members might not be familar with). I am lucky they are within my reach and not have to buy most of them. You sometime forget that you are blessed with these natural resources and its only now when you are far away that you appreciate it.
Hi Maley Are you living in the uk. You mentioned that they are within your reach and that you dont have to buy them so im wondering where is your location. Thanks
They can "preserve" apples for long periods by storing in vast large darkened rooms with the air "conditioned" (I think removal of oxygen and/or nitrogen??) and they last much longer. Obviously that would bump the transportation costs up.
