Ube’s sweet success faces growth pains
On Starbucks’ menu and grocery shelves abroad, ube—once a niche flavor internationally but long beloved in the Philippines—has found a comfortable place under the global spotlight in what has been dubbed its great “purple reign.”
Ube coconut macchiato. Ube mochi pancakes. Ube-scented candles. And, more familiar to Filipinos, ube ice scramble.
That ube can seemingly find its way into almost anything is reason for jubilation for the Philippines, considered the cultural and agricultural heartland of the purple yam, which the government has been quick to tout as a potential export star.
But as quickly as ube has risen came a sobering reality check: for the Philippines to sell more of it abroad, it first needs enough to grow at home.
So, for now, the Department of Agriculture (DA) has indefinitely suspended exports of fresh ube and planting materials, covering even propagative materials whether intended for consumption, planting or research.
The goal is to shore up scarce planting stock and expand domestic production before making a bigger push overseas.
“We severely lack planting material ourselves, and we don’t want to export it to countries that could use Philippine ube varieties to compete with us,” Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. says.
The irony is that the shortage may itself be a sign of just how far ube has come.
Good problem, but…
BMI, a unit of Fitch Solutions, says the supply crunch validates ube’s emergence as a global food trend, with demand expanding beyond traditional Filipino communities into mainstream markets.
“Demand has now become strong enough to create supply-side constraints, evident by the fact that the policy was introduced specifically because overseas demand for ube has risen while domestic planting stock remains limited,” it says.
“The action taken by the Philippine government to protect planting materials and preserve future production capacity indicates that policymakers increasingly view ube as a strategic agricultural export opportunity rather than a passing consumer trend,” it adds.
After all, ube exports totaled $3.06 million in 2025, according to data from the Department of Trade and Industry, surpassing the $1.4 million recorded by the Philippine Statistics Authority in 2024. That growth has been fueled primarily by demand from the United States, Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom.
Ube’s ascent, then, may be a good problem to have, but it is a problem nonetheless. And solving it may entail more than just keeping more ube at home.
Although the export suspension should preserve more planting material in the country, BMI says this alone may not trigger a meaningful increase in production. Many farmers work with limited land and depend on agriculture for their livelihoods, making them understandably cautious about switching to a crop whose current popularity may not guarantee long-term returns.
Ban not enough?
Another potential wrinkle is that restricting exports could push domestic ube prices lower, potentially giving already cash-strapped farmers even less reason to plant it.
“While the export ban will preserve more growing material in the country, the current government announcement so far lacks any further financial incentives for farmers to switch to growing ube on their limited farmland, deterring any meaningful increase in domestic supply,” BMI says.
For BMI, stronger government support could make the difference. Under its high-growth scenario, incentives would encourage more farmers to take up ube and accelerate production. Without them, farmers could remain reluctant to switch crops, keeping supply growth constrained.
To be fair, the government is beginning to put more money and resources behind the crop.
For 2027, President Marcos has approved P300 million for the ube industry, while the DA is pursuing tissue culture, community-based nurseries and mini-set propagation to multiply the supply of quality planting materials.
Further, the Bureau of Plant Industry and researchers at the University of the Philippines Los Baños are also genetically mapping Philippine ube varieties for registration, partly to protect native varieties from biopiracy as their commercial value grows.
Thus, as ube continues to soar to new heights and win over more palates abroad, its roots may quite literally have to remain firmly here in the Philippines, where it has been cherished long before the rest of the world caught on.
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