NOTE: This is a comprehensive policy advisory and industry feedback report on the Mango Industry Revitalization and Export Development Program. This includes a detailed content review, implementation structure analysis, SWOT analysis, and stakeholder mapping.
The Philippine mango industry is at a critical juncture, facing declining production and stagnating exports. Once a leading global producer, the country’s mango output has slipped in recent years. In the Ilocos Region (the country’s top mango-producing region), mango production was approximately 166,032 metric tons in 2022, a 3.7% decrease from the previous year.
Multiple factors have contributed to this decline: limited access to credit for farmers, pervasive pests and diseases, high post-harvest losses, and other challenges undermining the competitiveness of Philippine mangoes in the world market. In response, the Department of Agriculture (DA) has formulated the Mango Revitalization and Export Development Program, a comprehensive initiative aimed at revitalizing the mango industry and boosting exports.
This report provides a detailed analysis of the program—examining its objectives, scope, components, and implementation framework—and offers industry feedback through a SWOT analysis and stakeholder mapping. Finally, actionable recommendations are proposed to strengthen the program’s design, policy support, financing mechanisms, and export development strategy. The goal is to ensure that policymakers and industry leaders have a clear, rigorous assessment to guide successful implementation of this program.
Click here to read the full report. Note from the editor:
Introduction
Ms. Rhoda S. Galos is a regular contributor and researcher at VCS Research. She specializes on the mango industry in the Philippines. She can be reach by email at rhoda_galos@vcsresearch.co.rw
-
Photos
Commentary on Components
The program components are well-chosen and address the major bottlenecks in the mango industry. The holistic approach – combining farm-level interventions (pest control, inputs, clustering), financial services (credit and insurance), and market-side measures (promotion and policy advocacy) – is a notable strength. This integrated design reflects an understanding that single-faceted interventions (e.g., just credit or just training) would not suffice given the interconnected nature of production and marketing problems.
Each component has identified lead agencies and private sector co-leads, which fosters accountability and expertise-sharing. For example, having BPI lead the pest management component brings in technical expertise on plant health, while ACPC leading credit brings financial policy know-how.
One observation is that post-harvest and processing support is not very explicitly outlined. Post-harvest losses in mango are known to be high – an ADB-funded study found post-harvest losses up to 34% for Philippine mangoes, largely due to spoilage and handling inefficiencies. While the program’s production component tangentially mentions support for best practices and marketing, it could more directly incorporate post-harvest interventions (e.g., training on proper harvesting techniques, investments in packing facilities or cold chain). This might be an area to bolster within the technical component or as a sub-component of export development, since reducing losses would immediately increase the effective supply for both domestic and export markets.