Philippines slips to 4th biggest banana exporter in 2024

MANILA, Philippines — Top three, no more?

The Philippines may have fallen to fourth place in the global banana export rankings last year as production woes persisted and worsened, reversing the country’s recovery in 2023, according to the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

The ranking is a notch lower than the third spot the country tallied in 2023, based on the preliminary report released by the FAO.

The FAO estimated that the Philippines exported 2.28 million metric tons of bananas last year, three percent lower than the 2.35 million MT shipped in 2023.

The Philippines is now ranked behind Guatemala and Colombia, which are estimated to have exported a total of 2.59 million MT and 2.31 million MT, respectively, last year.

Ecuador remained as the world’s largest banana exporter last year with 5.76 million MT, according to the FAO.

This now marks the second straight year the Philippines drops in the world banana export rankings.

Last year, the country was dislodged by Guatemala as the second-largest exporter of the prized yellow fruit.

The FAO attributed the drop in the Philippine banana exports to worsening spread of Panama disease tropical race 4 in domestic farms.

The country’s estimated banana exports last year was also 29 percent lower than its average export volume of 3.22 million MT from 2018 to 2022, based on FAO data.

Citing a local industry group, FAO said only 51,000 hectares out of the 89,000 hectares of banana cultivation remain operational.

The FAO also cited rising geopolitical tensions in the West Philippine Sea as one of the factors affecting the country’s banana exports, which was earlier reported by The STAR.

Banana imports by China and Japan from the Philippines posted declines last year due to domestic supply shortfall, according to the FAO.

“Preliminary monthly trade data show that Chinese imports of Filipino bananas dropped by 39 percent year-on-year over the first nine months of 2024,” it said.

“Available monthly trade data for the first seven months of the year accordingly show year-on-year declines in import quantities into Japan from the Philippines by (four) percent,” it added.

The STAR earlier reported that the government and banana industry stakeholders are looking at legislating a plan that will not just revitalize the country’s ailing banana sector but also salvage the country’s sagging market share abroad.

International trade data showed that the Philippines has been losing substantial market share in its key Asian markets to not just South American producers but also to neighboring Asian countries.

The Philippines lost nearly 11 percentage points of banana market share in South Korea from January to August 2024 compared to the previous year’s level.

The Philippines also lost almost 13 percentage points of market share in China from January to July 2024 versus the same seven-month period the prior year.

With the latest figures, the country’s share in South Korea’s banana market is now down to 60 percent, while in China it currently accounts for 24.5 percent.