Last week I flew to Bacolod, Negros Occidental to visit a British expat who’s very ill with cancer. In between home visits I wandered around SM Bacolod, Ayala Mall and Bacolod Central Markets and remembered why I was happy to relocate back to Pampanga from Negros some six years ago.
All the vegetables I saw for sale looked very tired and manky. Sure some locally grown fruits looked OK but compared to what’s available on Luzon – forget it. Little wonder Pampanga/Baguio is named “the food basket of the Philippines“. When I lived in Amlan, Negros Oriental (21Kms north of Dumaguete City) a few years back, I gave it a year and then gave up. Nowhere could I find all the decent produce I needed as an experienced cook/chef. Last week’s trip reminded me of how fed up I was not being able to source decent fresh vegetables in Negros.
I really am spoilt for choice in Pampanga, as all the region’s produce (including the wonderful fresh fruits and vegetables of Baguio) get delivered direct to Pampanga whilst they continue their journey south to distributors in Manila.
There are numerous expat YouTubers who moan about the lack of variety and availability of fresh produce in the Philippines and it’s true for most of the Visayas and Mindanao. Of course there are several varieties of fruits that do grow in these regions, but not so many VEGETABLES! The cooler Baguio climate combined with decades of agri experience is why Luzon should be home for anyone who puts access to fresh produce high on their list of priorities.
