Manila, June 25 -- An initial 20-ton shipment of Cardava bananas to Saudi Arabia will depart on June 26, the Department of Agriculture in Davao Region (DA-11) said Wednesday.

The shipment, comprising 1,540 boxes of 13 kg. each, is expected to arrive in 35 days and is handled by GERB Golden Hands Corporation, an accredited exporter.

"This is an offshoot from the International Expo we attended in Dubai last year, the AGRA Middle East (AGRAME). The GERB Corp. attended, and there we get the market linkage," Macario Gonzaga, DA-11 regional director, said in an interview with the Philippine News Agency.

He noted that the supply was sourced from the Magsasakang Progresibo Marketing Cooperative, a farmer group actively supported by the agency....