Philippines still world’s second biggest banana exporter

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines maintained its position as the second largest exporter of bananas last year despite lower shipments.

Based on the latest banana market review of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, the Philippines exported a total of 2.3 million metric tons (MT) last year.

This represents a four percent decline from the 2.4 million MT shipped in 2021, based on FAO’s previous report.

The Philippine banana exports have been on a downtrend after 2019, when it shipped over four million MT.

FAO said the Philippine banana output continued to suffer from the spread of Banana Fusarium Wilt Tropical Race 4 (TR4) coupled with high costs of inputs and fertilizers.

“Both developments reportedly had a particularly detrimental effect on small-scale banana producers in the Philippines, who struggled to procure the necessary agricultural inputs to meet the quality requirements of export markets,” it said.

Despite the decline, the Philippines placed second to Ecuador, which remains as the world’s top banana exporter with 5.8 million MT shipped last year, representing an “unprecedented” 12.4 percent drop from last year.

Guatemala, which was the third banana exporter, shipped 2.3 million MT last year – a 2.1 decline year-on-year – amid COVID-related difficulties and production shortages.

FAO said global exports of bananas fell 6.1 percent to 19.1 million MT.

Most of the leading global banana suppliers were affected by contraction due to “persistently high costs of fertilizers.”

In 2021, producers had already reduced their use of fertilizers, affecting the production quantity and quality standards.

Adverse weather conditions also affected production and yields.

The Philippines was the top exporter in Asia, supplying around 60 percent of bananas globally, the FAO said.

However, it faces competition from other rising Asian banana producers, namely Vietnam, Cambodia and India.

The UN agency said strong import demand from China and from some emerging importers in the Middle East supported the investments in banana plantations in the three countries.

The report noted that Vietnam and Cambodia registered double-digit growth in exports last year to 410,000 MT each, while India’s export rose 6.3 percent to 360,000 MT.

Moreover, FAO said the Philippines lost some market share for its banana shipments.

“Imports of Filipino bananas, meanwhile, dropped by 14 percent in 2022 due to the continuing production difficulties experienced in the Philippines.

China reduced its imports last year to just 40 percent last year from 50 to 75 percent in previous years.

It also marks a decline in imports by Japan, which the UN agency said “typically sources some 75 to 80 percent of its banana imports from the Philippines.”

“Available trade data by origin accordingly show year-on-year decline in imports into Japan from most origins,” it said.