REPORT NO.

9 THE INDUSTRIALIZATION OF DEHYDRATED BANANA PRODUCTS IN

THE PHILIPPINE AGRICULTURAL SETTING

Introduction

- Fruit derivatives are products based on an organic fruit which is processed and
transformed into another form of food. One of the leading goods in export in the
Philippines specifically in Mindanao is Banana. There are a lot of derivatives created
from the banana fruit including: Sugar, Banana Chips, Candy and many more.
- The Philippines is poised to cement its position as the world’s second-largest exporter
of bananas in the next nine years on the back of better supply management and high
demand from key Asian markets, a United Nations’ agency said. The projection was
disclosed by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in its recent global
banana market review report. However, FAO clarified that the projections were
prepared in January and do not take into consideration the impact of the Covid-19
pandemic on global banana trade. FAO estimated global banana exports, excluding
plantaints to have reached a record high of 20.2 MMT in 2019 on the back of strong
supply growth from Ecuador and the Philippines, the world’s two leading exporters. [1]
- Dried or dehydrated fruits and vegetables can be produced by a variety of processes.
These processes differ primarily by the type of drying method used, which depends
on the type of food and the type of characteristics of the final product. In general, dried
or dehydrated fruits and vegetables undergo the following process steps: pre-drying
treatments, such as size selection, peeling, and color preservation; drying or
dehydration, using natural or artificial methods; and post-dehydration treatments, such
as sweating, inspection, and packaging. [2]
- Banana is grown in almost every country in the world especially in the tropical and
subtropical countries where it has been sustainably cultivated and thus contributed to
the country’s economy. Table 1.1 presents the top 10 major world producers of
Banana by country. [3]

Table 1.1

RANK Country Production

1 India 31,897,900

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 2 China 9,848,895
3 Philippines 1,101,340
4 Ecuador 7,931,060
5 Brazil 6,978,310
6 Indonesia 5,814,580
7 Tanzania 2,924,700
8 Guatemala 2,621,500
9 Mexico 2,103,360
10 Colombia 2,034,340

- The Industrialization of the banana fruit in dehydrated products sparks a boost in the
agricultural perspective in the food industry in Mindanao. The process of dehydration
of the banana fruit will be discussed and explained in this report.

Development of the Banana Fruit

-The banana fruit is either seeded or vegetatively parthenocarpic; the latter may or
may not be seed fertile, depending on a complex of cytogenetical factors. Edible pulp
(a starchy parenchyma), which fills the fruit in parthenocarpic types and surrounds the
seeds in seeded bananas, mostly originates from the outer lining of the loculus (the
innermost layer of the pericarp). In Figure 1.1, a sample cluster of banana fruits are
presented. These cluster of bananas are called hands. [4]

Figure

Submitted by: Emilio Joaquin Flores

Date: March 13, 2021
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 Figure 1.1 Cluster of Banana Fruits

- Each hand contains many bananas, which develop from the female part of the flower,
the ovary, the hands of flowers are born under a modified leaf that protects them while
they are young Later, when the bananas are nearly ripe, and the modified leaf falls off,
leaving a scar. [5]

Dehydration of Fruits

- Dehydration of fruit and vegetables is one of the oldest forms of food preservation
techniques known to man and consists primarily of establishments engaged in sun
drying or artificially dehydrating fruits and vegetables. Although food preservation is
the primary reason for dehydration, dehydration of fruits and vegetables also lowers
the cost of packaging, storing, and transportation by reducing both the weight and
volume of the final product. Given the improvement in the quality of dehydrated foods,
along with the increased focus on instant and convenience foods, the potential of
dehydrated fruits and vegetables is greater than ever. [2]
- Pre-drying treatments prepare the raw product for drying or dehydration and include
raw product preparation and color preservation. Raw product preparation includes
selection and sorting, washing, peeling (some fruits and vegetables), cutting into the
appropriate form, and blanching (for some fruits and most vegetables). Fruits and
vegetables are selected; sorted according to size, maturity, and soundness; and then
washed to remove dust, dirt, insect matter, mold spores, plant parts, and other material
that might contaminate or affect the color, aroma, or flavor of the fruit or vegetable.
Peeling or removal of any undesirable parts follows washing. [6]
- The final step in the pre-dehydration treatment is color preservation, also known as
sulfuring. The majority of fruits are treated with sulfur dioxide (SO2) for its antioxidant
and preservative effects. The presence of SO2 is very effective in retarding the
browning of fruits, which occurs when the enzymes are not inactivated by the
sufficiently high heat normally used in drying. In addition to preventing browning, SO2
treatment reduces the destruction of carotene and ascorbic acid, which are the
important nutrients for fruits.

Submitted by: Emilio Joaquin Flores

Date: March 13, 2021
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Agricultural Contracts in Mindanao in Banana Fruit

- Contract growing has been defined as an agreement between farmers and processing
and/or marketing firms under forward agreements, usually at predetermined prices for
the production and supply of agricultural. As such, it offers a solution to a number of
production and marketing problems that lead to low farm productivity and profitability.
These problems plague the agricultural sector and contribute to the high poverty
incidence in the rural sector particularly in many areas in Mindanao. On the other hand,
Mindanao, being groomed as the country’s food basket, shows an example on how
contract growing can address various marketing and production problems in the farm
sector. This is demonstrated in industries that serve as the lifeblood of Mindanao’s
economy for many years such as banana and pineapple. Production of these
commodities including asparagus, corn, and poultry was pioneered mainly by
multinationals and large agribusiness firms in the island-region. [7] While the market
and technological factors largely affect the viability of the contract growing scheme of
a particular commodity, there are other factors that are equally important in
determining its performance. These include the infrastructure conditions, peace and
order, credit accessibility, and government policies that affect the industry as a whole
such as the implementation of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP)
and trade liberalization policies. Thus, aside from the economic and technological
conditions, the policy environment affecting both demand supply conditions plays an
important role in examining the impact of contract growing scheme in Mindanao’s
agricultural development. In a study conducted by Larry N. Digal, A guide on contract
farming was developed by Charles Eaton and Andrew Shepherd was published by the
Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). This guide includes a framework in contract
growing which outlines the various components of the contract and the factors that
affect it as shown in Figure 1.2. It outlines the external factors that include the market,
the physical and social environments, infrastructure facilities, and government policies
among others. It also indicates that the contract is a dynamic process. As such, it is
necessary to monitor and evaluate the gaps so that adjustments, improvements and
innovations can be made.

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Date: March 13, 2021
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 Figure 1.2 Contract Growing Framework
- According to the guide, there are various benefits and costs or problems involved in
contractual arrangements as gleaned from the various case studies done in many
countries. It can be observed that contractual arrangements and vertical integration
are similar in many aspects particularly with regards to the motives of contractors and
firms that vertically integrate. Clearly, it is important to examine how issues on alleged
inequitable contracting arrangements can be addressed to minimize strikes that affect
productivity and competitiveness of agricultural industries in general. Agrarian reform
has caused uncertainties which have constrained investments in agriculture and
reduced market valuation of land. Regardless of the mode of resolving the issues, a
price setting mechanism that will lead to more acceptable terms of contractual
arrangements must be encouraged.

Challenges and Prospective

- Several aspects are worthy of future investigations; these challenges are listed as
follows:

1. Fundamental understanding of the application of the knowledge in Fruit derivatives and

how it affects production process and industrialization process in the Philippine setting. Additional
to this, more fruit derivatives should be explored not only in Banana.

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Date: March 13, 2021
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2. In the study of the development of the Banana fruit, It is important to understand the growth of
the fruit and how the way and how it is cultured affects the production and outcome of produced
goods in future studies. Different plantations have different ways in culturing their products and it
is integral to compare these studies to check for efficiency and contrast if it can be applied in
different settings.

3. Agricultural Contracts bridge the production and the future aspects of fruits and fruit derivatives
in the agricultural setting. Studies on the different agricultural contracts of different fruits should
also be explored for additional data.

Reference:

[ J. Y. ARCALAS, "PHL poised to be second-largest banana exporter in next 9 years," 25 May

1 2020. [Online]. Available: https://businessmirror.com.ph/2020/05/25/phl-poised-to-be-second-
] largest-banana-exporter-in-next-9-years/. [Accessed 11 March 2021].

[ L. P. S. a. B. S. Luh, Commercial Fruit Processing, AVI Publishing Company, Inc, 2017.

2
]

[ H. S. T. F. Y. C. M. I. A. Birdie Scott Padam, "Banana by-products: an under-utilized

3 renewable food biomass with great potential," 3 October 2012. [Online]. Available:
] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4252442/. [Accessed 6 March 2021].

[ J. Simmons, "The Development of the Banana Fruit," Banana Research Scheme, vol. 1, no.
4 1, p. 2, 2010.
]

[ B. Kirchoff, "Development of a Banana," 28 November 2018. [Online]. Available:

5 https://kids.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/frym.2018.00060#:~:text=The%20female%20part%
] 20of%20the%20flower%20has%20an%20ovary%2C%20which,These%20fruits%20cannot%
20be%20eaten.. [Accessed 11 March 2021].

[ e. a. J. L. Jones, "Overview Of Environmental Control Measures And Problems In The Food

6 Processing Industries," Industrial Environmental Research, vol. 1, no. 1, pp. 12-25, 2014.
]

[ L. N. Digal, "CONTRACTUAL ARRANGEMENTS IN AGRICULTURE," 2007.

7
]

Submitted by: Emilio Joaquin Flores

Date: March 13, 2021
ME 523
Submitted by: Emilio Joaquin Flores
Date: March 13, 2021
ME 523