The Philippines intends to send food to Japan, starting with a shipment of bananas and plantains, to help feed the hundreds of thousands of victims of the massive March 11 earthquake and tsunami that devastated the northeastern part of the country.
"We are trying to send some containers of bananas to help with their food needs," Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala said.
The magnitude 9 earthquake spawned a destructive tsunami that all but wiped out towns along the northeastern coast of Japan's Honshu island. The temblor and tidal waves also damaged the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, raising fears of a nuclear meltdown as authorities furiously try to contain the disaster.
Alacala said the Department of Agriculture plans to start by sending bananas since this is one of the top commodities that the Philippines exports to Japan. A total of 95 percent of the bananas consumed in Japan come from the Philippines, he noted.
He said the DA would send the "lakatan" variety along with "saba," a species of plantain that may be cooked as a staple. Later, the DA may also send pineapples, he added in an interview on the state-run NBN 4 station.
Alcala said the plan to send fruits had the blessings of the President.
"We have coordinated and have sought the permission of the President, and he said that it is only right that we show our solidarity with them, since they are among the best importers of our bananas," he said.
He said Japan imports more food from the Philippines than it exports to the country.
Alcala also said the Philippines could be expected to export more food to Japan now, but called on exporters not to take advantage of the quake-hit country.
"Let us not raise prices, let's keep it at the proper level," he said.
He also noted that the damaged areas in Japan were devoted to agriculture, and the Philippines should try to help by producing the kind of crops that have been badly affected.
