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29% of total Philippine fruit exports were delivered to Dubai by Cebu Pacific during the first nine months of 2020
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UAE ranked as second top destination of Philippine produce carried by Cebu Pacific from Jan to Sept 2020
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For the period, Cebu Pacific flew 87 direct cargo flights between Manila and Dubai, 75 of which were during the first quarter while 12 during the second and third quarters
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Mango topped Cebu Pacific’s list of most exported fruits
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) emerged as one of the top export destinations of Philippine produce carried by low-cost carrier Cebu Pacific for the period January to September 2020.
According to data released by Cebu Pacific, 29% or 10,674 kilograms of the total 37,405 kg of Philippine fruit exports it carried were delivered to Dubai.
The UAE ranked second to Hong Kong, where the airline delivered 55% or a total of 20,641 kg of fruits during the same period.
Mango topped Cebu Pacific’s list of most exported fruits, amounting to 27,132 kg. This was followed by Philippine lime or calamansi, soursop or guyabano, sapota or chico and turnip or singkamas at 6,178 kg.
For the period, Cebu Pacific flew 87 direct cargo flights between Manila and Dubai, 75 of which were during the first quarter, while 12 were during the second and third quarters.
Philippine Trade and Investment Centre (PTIC) commercial attaché Charmaine Yalong in a statement said the increasing demand for Filipino food products in the UAE may be attributed to the high disposable incomes of consumers, thanks to the large presence of Filipinos in the country and the growing proportion of Filipino brands being mainstreamed in the market.
Yalong said the continued support to Philippine exporters, through trade referrals and organization of Philippine participations in trade exhibitions and outbound business missions, contributed to the increasing presence of Philippine products in the UAE. She also noted the rising number of Filipino restaurants proliferating in UAE’s malls and city centers.
“As such, aside from gratifying the cravings of our kababayans for native Philippine products, the cosmopolitan tastes of locals and expatriates in the UAE are now being catered to as well. A wide range of these products is now available side-by-side with other products from Asia, Europe and the United States in the shelves of supermarkets here in the UAE,” she added.
Yalong said that during the first half of 2020, Philippine food exports to UAE saw a sustained growth.
Aside from fruits, the Philippines also saw an uptick in the export of processed food and beverages to the UAE, as these accounted for US$20.86 million or AED76.61 million of food exports. Also on the list were pineapple and byproducts, $14.02 million; fresh bananas, $12.9 million; tuna, $3.3 million; and fresh/processed fish, $0.59 million.
Cebu Pacific vice president for cargo Alex Reyes said the airline’s UAE-bound export from the Philippines is not only limited to agriculture. Within the first three quarters of 2020, Cebu Pacific also exported to Dubai about 1,322 kg of food items and 372 kg of marine frozen products.
Cebu Pacific earlier said it recently modified one of its Airbus A330 aircraft into an all-cargo configuration, removing seats so cargo can be carried in the main deck, as they saw the pandemic “as an opportunity to recalibrate our business and optimize operations to address the needs of our customers.”
READ: Cebu Pacific takes delivery of second cargo freighter
Cebu Pacific also recently took delivery of its second ATR cargo freighter to further strengthen its cargo operations to and from domestic airports with short runways.
