Iloilo wants to become the PHL’s next ube hub, plans Cabatuan nursery

ILOILO CITY — Iloilo province is taking steps to become a major production hub for purple yam (Dioscorea alata), or ube, amid growing global demand for processed ube products.

Provincial Administrator Raul Banias disclosed the plan after a Nov. 6 meeting with the Institute of Contemporary Economics and industry experts from Mindanao.

Representatives of the Provincial Agriculture Office and the Local Economic Development and Investment Promotion Center also attended the meeting.

Also present were Marco Adriane R. Escudero, president and chief steward of Santo Domingo Farms Ventures Inc., and Padiernos B. “Padie” Alover, vice president of JPC Golden Alliance Trading Inc., also known as Maharlika Ube.

“With the surging global demand for processed ube powder, Iloilo has a prime opportunity to bridge the supply gap and establish itself as a traceable, export-grade production center,” Banias said.

He said one of the initial agreements was to establish a 1-hectare ube propagule nursery in Cabatuan.

Cabatuan Mayor Elizalde “Boboy” Pueyo provided the lot for the nursery.

The facility will supply quality planting materials to support local ube production.

Banias added that the initiative supports Gov. Arthur Defensor Jr.’s vision of making agriculture a profitable business for Ilonggo farmers.

“Iloilo is an Agriculture Province, and we will make Agriculture Business Friendly and profitable,” Banias said, quoting Defensor.

Provincial officials see ube as a promising addition to Iloilo’s agricultural industry.

With growing market demand, the province hopes to attract more investments and create new income opportunities for farmers.

National supply squeeze

Iloilo’s push comes as national ube output declines. The Philippines produced about 12,483 metric tons of fresh ube in 2025, down 6.7% from the previous year, The Manila Times reported.

Land planted to the crop shrank 17.1% to 2,367.08 hectares over the same period.

Production stood at about 15,000 metric tons in 2021, according to figures cited by the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

Farmers have also reported a shortage of planting materials because high prices push them to sell nearly all harvested tubers instead of keeping some for replanting, The New York Times reported earlier this year.

The Department of Agriculture has since imposed an indefinite ban on fresh ube exports to protect local planting materials, The Philippine Star reported in September.