Philippines sends 1-ton Carabao mango shipment to Vancouver, expands Canada market

ASM, Philippine Canadian Inquirer
September 22, 2026

Photo courtesy: Philippine News Agency

MANILA — The Philippines has shipped one metric ton of fresh Carabao mangoes directly to Vancouver, expanding the fruit’s presence in the Canadian market months after the country began commercial exports of fresh mangoes to Canada.

The shipment, consisting of 250 cartons, departed the Ninoy Aquino International Airport complex in Parañaque City on September 18, according to the Department of Agriculture. 

It was arranged through a partnership between Mensch FilAm Corp. and the Department of Trade and Industry’s Export Marketing Bureau under its Outbound Business Matching Mission program.

Vancouver-based Fresh Makers Ltd., which supplies supermarkets and institutional buyers, is importing the mangoes. Air Canada handled the air transport, while Airspeed Cargo provided logistics support.

Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said expanding access to overseas markets could create more opportunities for Filipino mango growers.

“Opening new markets means opening new opportunities for our farmers,” Tiu Laurel said, adding that stronger agricultural exports could help raise farm incomes and encourage investment in rural areas.

The shipment forms part of government efforts to improve the Philippine mango industry’s ability to meet export requirements and supply foreign buyers consistently.

The DA said more than 40 mango growers’ groups have been consolidated into a single federation to strengthen industry coordination, supply consolidation and access to markets. The Bureau of Plant Industry is also working to address diseases affecting mango production and improve plant-health measures required by importing countries.

BPI has also signed an agreement with Mitsui & Co. aimed at supporting development of the Philippine mango industry and expanding opportunities for growers and exporters.

The September shipment is not the Philippines’ first commercial export of fresh Carabao mangoes to Canada overall. 

The Department of Agriculture previously announced that the first commercial shipment arrived in Toronto on June 4, 2026, after leaving the Philippines on June 3. That one-metric-ton shipment was supplied by Hi-Las Marketing Corp. and Castillo Import Export Ventures Inc. and imported by Ontario-based TSI Tropicals Inc.

Fresh Philippine mangoes from that supply chain also reached British Columbia earlier this month. The Philippine Consulate General in Vancouver said 100 cases were delivered to T&T Supermarket stores in Richmond and Surrey on September 9, with another 200 cases expected for distribution across Metro Vancouver.

The latest shipment through Mensch FilAm and Fresh Makers adds another commercial supply line for Philippine Carabao mangoes into the Canadian market.