The fall in the number of growers has caused a decline in the supply of local agri produce.

The food processing industry is concerned about the supply of local agricultural products, which is in decline despite the various government programs and initiatives to help farmers, according to a purchasing executive.

Ferdinand Pio, corporate purchasing manager at KLT Fruits Inc., in an update on trends and market opportunities in the fruit industry, presented at a recent agri-business forum in Calamba, Laguna, data showing a declining supply of local agri produce. The decline was traced to the fall in the number of growers that is a troubling development for the country’s food processing industry who depend on the farm sector.

Citing the situation at KLT Fruits, a fruit processing company that markets tropical fruit purees, Pio said the unstable and unreliable agri product supply in the Philippines affects their operations and challenges their capability to meet their commitments to their overseas customers.

He said the company is losing farmers who can supply their product requirements because these growers are getting old and close to retirement even as their children do not want to go into farming.

He said the business contends with strong competition from Vietnam, from where it also imports because “Vietnam now has a strong supply of fruits” and Philippine importers “can no longer get supply there.”

Pio said KLT Fruits sorely needs bulk suppliers of saba (plantain), mango, jackfruit, guava, calamansi, jackfruit, passion fruit and many more.

To address the shortage, Pio suggests for farmers learn to market their products. “You don’t just plant without someone to buy your product,” he said.

More importantly, he encourages farmers to form cooperatives and associations. “Don’t farm alone,” he advises, adding that if farmers form themselves into groups “you will become stronger.”