Purple reign: Philippines seeks to keep grip on ube throne

A humble yam that has cast a purple hue across cities from Seoul to London to Los Angeles, the Filipino ube has enjoyed a global boom in popularity. Once processed, the crop, which can take nine months to grow, can be used in coffee, cakes, ice cream, spreads and make-up, among other products, with its rise attributed to social media. With farmers in the Philippines struggling to keep up, and with fears that overseas cultivation could swoop in to fill the gap, the government has banned the export of raw ube. “I want to be able to have a stronger Philippine ube industry,” says Al Bonifacio, a farmer and exporter processed ube.