Characterization and Agronomic Evaluation of Naturally Occurring Short-statured Saba Banana in the Philippines

With more than 480,000 ha production area and 6.1 million tons total production, the Philippines ranks 6th in the world’s top banana producers after India, China, Indonesia, Brazil, and Ecuador (FAO 2019b). In 2018, the total banana export worldwide reached 19.2 million tons, with the Philippines contributing 18% of the global shipment (FAO 2019a), catering to Asian countries like Japan, China, South Korea, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, and Kuwait.