A DEPARTMENT of Trade and Industry representative checks products made from purple yam or ube during a recent product exposition. From New York coffee shops to Sydney bakeries, ube is taking the world by storm. Exports are booming.
PHOTOGRAPH courtesy of DTI
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The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the Department of Agriculture have tied up with the province of Camarines Sur to launch a comprehensive value-chain program that could transform purple yam, locally known as ube (Dioscorea alata), into the next big-ticket Philippine export.
DTI-Bicol described the move as “strategic, timely, and exactly the kind of localized export push the national government wants to see replicated across the country.”
The Sangguniang Panlalawigan of the province has just approved Ordinance 040 series of 2026, declaring ube the province’s priority crop and creating the Ube Development Program.
The province’s volcanic soil, ideal climate, and existing agricultural expertise already give the province a natural edge.
Recent trade data showed ube and ube-based products exported from the Philippines reached $3.06 million in 2025 alone, with strong and growing demand in the United States, Europe, the Middle East and across Asia.
The DTI saw this as clear proof of commercial viability. The province is now positioning itself to capture a much larger slice of that market.
Just as matcha powder has become the premium ingredient everyone wants, ube powder can command the same premium positioning if the country gets the standards, branding, and promotion right.
The provincial government already operates a Fruits and Vegetables Facility in Pili, which can be immediately upgraded to serve as the flagship processing hub for ube powder with international certifications.
