Agri chief urges Filipinos to buy local fruits for New Year celebrations

A sample of local fruits. (Photo collage courtesy Department of Agriculture)

 

(Eagle News) – The Department of Agriculture urged Filipinos celebrating the New Year to buy local fruits, instead of buying imported apples, oranges, and grapes to decorate their dinner table on New Year’s eve.

“There are local fruits that can adorn our tables and they are as nutritious and cheaper than imported ones,” the newly-confirmed Agriculture Secretary William Dar said.

Dar explained that there are local varieties of grapes and citrus fruits that can be bought by consumers for the New Year’s eve celebrations.

“For instance, instead of imported oranges, we can buy Perante, Satsuma, or Vizcaya ponkan, which are grown in Nueva Vizcaya. There are also local grapes from La Union, as well as citrus fruits from Central Luzon and Bukidnon,” Dar added.

Other popular Pinoy fruits include melon, watermelon (pakwan), lanzones, chico, pomelo, rambutan, mangosteen, sineguelas, tiesa, guava (bayabas), atis (custard apple), duhat (black plum), rambutan, santol, dalandan or sintunis (Philippine orange), aratiles (local cherry), bignay (currant), mabolo, papaya, avocado, and fresh coconut, among other fruits.

For non-traditional consumers, he said there are round varieties of langka (jackfruit), pineapple, mango, macopa, durian, balimbing (star fruit) and dragonfruit that can be bought from farmers.

Also, there are indigenous fruits like anang, sapote, yambo, sapinit, katmon, kalumpit, lipote, binukaw, or paratungon — that are often overlooked, not because they are not as delicious and as nutritious as their imported ones, but because most Filipinos are unfamiliar with them.

“Buying Pinoy fruits will indeed increase incomes of farmers and their families who are into fruit orchard production,” Dar said.

(with a DA release)