The Department of Agriculture is seeking an additional P300 million to kickstart expansion of the country’s ube industry, a move designed to at least double local output and meet fast-rising global demand for the popular purple tuber. Announced Tuesday, the funding will double the area currently planted to ube as the first phase of a plan to bring 1,000 new hectares into production within the first year. Allocating roughly P850,000 per hectare for farm development, support facilities and crop management, the program lines up with the November 2026 harvest and propagation cycle. Ten ube varieties have been selected for large-scale growing under the initiative.
Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said the goal is steady, sustainable growth now that Philippine ube is winning international favor, avoiding the supply disruptions and production shortfalls that struck other high-value crops when overseas demand suddenly took off. He stressed the industry must develop carefully so past missteps are not repeated. The expansion also aims to build dependable supply chains and open wider international markets for Filipino farm products, according to DA Undersecretary Philip Young, who oversees high-value export crops. To boost planting stock, the department will scale up minisett propagation, tissue culture and single-leaf nodal cuttings, with mother tubers taken from established farms and chosen farmer cooperatives serving as multiplication sites. Securing ample planting materials will support domestic output and prevent other nations from using Philippine-sourced stock to capture the growing global market.
Secretary Tiu Laurel also moved to clear confusion over a recent policy, saying the indefinite restriction on certain raw ube shipments is not a ban on ube exports generally but applies specifically to ube that can be used as planting material. He explained that unprocessed, untreated raw ube can easily be planted after being cut, so it is this form that is restricted. Fully processed ube in any form, he emphasized, is supported for export without reservation.
