How Philippine ube farming can cash in on ‘purple gold rush’

Esmeraldo Maligsa, a farmer and president of the Bohol Ube Growers Association, harvests 2,000kg (4,400lbs) of ube, the purple tuber native to the Philippines, every seven months. He and the other farmers in his group manage a collective yield of between 5 tonnes and 8 tonnes, fetching prices of 90 to 100 pesos (US$1.50 to US$1.70) per kg. Such is the price the ubi kinampay, dubbed the “Queen of Philippine yams”, fetches. It is grown in Bohol province and nearby areas in central Philippines, and is prized for its nutty, vanilla-like flavour and distinct aroma. However, the supply has much to catch up with the surge in demand, which faces shortfalls even back home. “Our yield … is not enough,” Maligsa said. “People call us and ask for two tonnes per month. How can we supply that?” Today, the rest of the world has caught up with the craze, with ube showing up on the menus of bakeries, cafes, and restaurants globally. In the United States alone, ube menu items had grown by over 200 per cent since 2022, the Philippine Daily Inquirer reported. Even popular coffee chain Starbucks has introduced a line of ube-flavoured drinks in its stores in the US and across Europe. Philippine ube exports reached over US$3 million in 2025, according to the Department of Trade and Industry – more than double the US$1.4 million figure recorded by the Philippine Statistics Authority in 2024. Key markets include Canada, the Middle East and parts of Asia, while the US, South Korea and Europe are emerging destinations. However, the country is facing steep competition from its neighbours, as Vietnam and China are rapidly scaling up production. Local farmers also have to grapple with manual methods and the lack of processing facilities. “We want to have machinery, like a small backhoe. The land we plant on is hilly. The Bohol government gave us a garden cultivator, but it can’t go up the hilly terrain … we would dig the land by hand, which takes time,” Maligsa said. On Saturday, the Philippines’ Department of Agriculture announced plans to institutionalise the ube industry, including standardisation and creating export-ready systems. “Demand is booming, but supply and structure are struggling to keep up,” Agriculture Undersecretary Philip Young said. “Ube is no longer just a pantry staple or dessert flavour but an export product that needs rules, scale and a proper growth playbook.” The department has set aside 2.6 million pesos to expand ube production in key areas, while the USDA has allocated US$34 million to strengthen the ube value chain, including the processing of products. Maligsa said that the government had recently provided the team with a harvesting facility to process the yams into powder, prolonging their shelf life and raising the price to 1,800 pesos per kg. Bohol bid Bohol this month applied for a Geographical Indication (GI) registration for its produce, which would “formally recognise the qualities, reputation and cultural heritage of the Bohol ubi kinampay that are inherently linked to the province’s geography, soil, climate and traditional farming practices,” according to the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines. The distinction would protect the crop against the unauthorised use of its name and false claims and strengthen the crop’s value by way of its origin, the agency said. “The world is now in the middle of a ‘purple gold rush’, and GI protection can help the Philippines stake its claim in the growing global demand by strengthening its market identity and position.” Maligsa welcomed the application for GI registration as a way to cement the crop’s value. “A lot of people are now imitating our ube but they cannot replicate the aroma, which is what makes the ubi kinampay more valuable,” he said. “We are not threatened by Vietnam and China. Our ube has an aroma that theirs doesn’t have because of the land it is planted on. Many have tried, but they cannot replicate it.” However, more needs to be done to stamp Bohol’s ownership as the kinampay variety is already being grown in other areas, according to Marlon Tambis, a professor and director of the Philippine Root Crop Research and Training Centre at the Visayas State University. While ube is culturally significant to the Bohol province, “people don’t really care much about economic viability … as export demand is increasing, ube is now considered a high-value crop,” Tambis said. Ube can promise good returns despite the high initial cost of production. “A farmer can potentially get more than 3kg per plant using the right variety, care and fertilisation. A hectare (2.5 acres) can potentially have 20,000 plants in a highly intensive system,” he said. However, ube growers face challenges with its seasonal nature due to a dormant period during planting and its growth dependent on certain environmental and climatic conditions. Tambis’ team is studying and developing techniques to ensure year-round harvests for ube, particularly methods that farmers can adopt and replicate. It is also looking into varieties that respond well to wider planting windows across the province as ubi kinampay is a sensitive crop. “Kinampay is susceptible to fungus and has a relatively lower yield, so relying only on kinampay will not help much to address the shortage problem, even if it has certain characteristics preferred by consumers,” Tambis said. “For Bohol to join the global ube value chain, they need to consider not just the kinampay variety, especially since they also need an expanded planting window to really supply more and to have a competitive price for their produce.”

How Philippine ube farming can cash in on ‘purple gold rush’

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Philippine ube exports reached over US$3 million in 2025, more than double the US$1.4 million figure recorded in 2024

Philippine ube exports reached over US$3 million in 2025, more than double the US$1.4 million figure recorded in 2024