Japanese company Itochu plans to JPY6 billion (US$57.7 million) in its subsidiary Dole International Holdings to improve banana farming methods and increase productivity in the Philippines, the Nikkei Asia Review reported.

The story reported the capital would be injected through fiscal 2018 in a bid to lift banana production 60% by 2020.

The Nikkei Asia Review highlighted the subsidiary's banana volumes dropped 30% to 540,000MT from 2012 to 2015, but this figure is expected to hit 850,000MT within four years.

The company aims to achieve this goal through the help of irrigation to offset droughts, disease-resistant seedlings and some farm relocations to sites with better soil, the story reported.

In pineapples, the group plans to spend JPY2.1 billion (US$20 million) to raise pineapple production capacity by 30% to one million metric tons (MT), with much of the growth forecast to come from a 55% uptick in planting area by 2018, the story reported.

The story reported pineapple canning and other facilities would expand as well under Itochu's plans.

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