DAVAO CITY—The Durian Festival has returned here after a hiatus since the government imposed lockdown measures beginning March 2020.
The durian festival is held to recognize it as the country’s king of fruits. Aside from this fruit, the city boasts of similarly iconic fruits such as marang, rambutan, lanzones, mangosteen and pomelo.
Agriculture Regional Director Abel James I. Monteagudo said Davao Region contributes 78 percent of the country’s durian production, half of which comes from Davao City.
Monteagudo said the durian festival “will not only showcase our fruits but will serve as a good venue for market linkages with local, national and international buyers.”
Councilor Marissa S. Abella said the city should improve its durian production by assisting farmers, applying the latest farming technology and cultivating the best quality seedlings. In these endeavors, she said, the city council would fully support the agriculture sector.
Acting City Agriculturist Edgardo A. Haspe said there is a current shortage of durian supply in the city and his office has successfully tapped other durian growers in other regions, with the help of the Durian Industry Association of Davao City.
The Chinese Consulate is currently assessing the quality of Davao City’s durian in order to create a direct linkage of the city’s durian to the Chinese market, the city information office said.
“Hopefully by next year we can already export directly to China,” Haspe said.
This year the durian festival, part of the Kadayawan fruit-harvest celebrations in August, was held at the SM Lanang Premier last Friday. It was organized by the Department of Agriculture with the Department of Tourism, the Davao City Agriculturist’s Office, the Durian Industry Association of Davao City and SM Prime Holdings Inc.