Agriculture Secretary William Dar urged Filipinos to patronize and buy local fruits in keeping with the local tradition of preparing round fruits during the New Year for prosperity.
He said the move would achieve the twin goals of increasing farmers’ incomes and supporting the development and commercialization of the local fruit industry. “Let’s promote and take pride in our local fruits. Let’s give the tradition a deeper meaning by nurturing our agricultural sector,” Dar said.
Most Filipinos prefer to buy imported fruits like 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,” Dar said. “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.”
Other popular Filipino fruits include melon, watermelon, lanzones, chico pomelo, rambutan, mangosteen, sineguelas, tiesa, guava, atis, duhat, rambutan, santol, dalandan or sintunis, aratiles, bignay, mabolo, papaya, avocado and fresh coconut.