Oddly colored white strawberries are expected to be the highlight of this year’s Strawberry Festival in Benguet’s capital, officials said Tuesday.

Mayor Romeo Salda, at a press conference, said with the introduction of white strawberries in their town, they have decided to prepare for the festival “a twin strawberry cake because we already have the white strawberries aside from the existing red-colored varieties.”

Originating in China, the white strawberries have two varieties: the “snow white” and the “milky way,” which have a texture and taste that are different from the typical red berries.

Nida Organo, municipal agriculture office chief, added that at least two farms have started growing the white strawberries and are ready to welcome tourists who wish to experience white strawberry picking.

“They just have to coordinate with us or the tourism office because the farmers only have limited slots with only a few available compared to the res berries,” Organo said.

Tourists can experience white strawberry picking for PHP600 to PHP700 per basket. For those who no longer wish to pick the white strawberries themselves, they can just buy a kilo for PHP1,000.

The strawberry festival will run from March 6 to 31. It was last held in 2019 before going into a three-year hiatus due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic. (PNA)