The Philippines slid to the third spot in global banana exports in 2023, according to a market review released by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority show in 2023, the Philippines shipped a total of 2.35 million tons of bananas with China and Japan as primary buyers.
The Philippines’ shipment of bananas last year is a 3.5- percent increase compared to 2022’s 2.27 million tons.
The FAO market review added total global exports of banana for the period reached 19.3 million tons, 12.2 percent of which was contributed by the Philippines.
For the period, Ecuador took the top spot, exporting bulk of the global banana shipments of 6.2 million tons or 32.13 percent of total.
Guatemala came in at second with 2.6 million tons or 13.5 percent of all shipments.
In fourth spot is Costa Rica with 1.9 million tons or 9.8 percent of all banana exports in the world.
Colombia rounded up the top five with 1.7 million tons or 8.8 percent of all bananas globally shipped.
The FAO report quoted the Pilipino Banana Growers and Exporters Association which attributed the improved banana export figures of the Philippines in 2023 to the local industry’s heavy investments in the containment of plant diseases as well as the successful rehabilitation of some 3,000 to 4,000 hectares of previously infected plantations.
The market review said the Philippines supplies 60 percent of Asian banana shipments on average, despite being impacted by adverse growing conditions related to various factors, including the spread of fusarium wilt tropical race 4 disease, occasional floods and occurrences of political unrest.
The banana plant disease, more commonly known as Panama disease, is caused by the soil-borne fungus Fusarium oxysporum that enters the banana plant’s roots and colonizes the xylem vessels, blocking the flow of water and nutrients which can cause the wilting and death of the crop.
FAO said this, paired with logistical difficulties, affected the quality of Filipino bananas which hampered shipments from the Philippines particularly during the first nine months of the year, notably to Japan and China.
The report said the situation only improved significantly in the final quarter of 2023, with exports to emerging destinations like Iran and Saudi Arabia respectively expanding by 60 percent and 12 percent in quantity terms.
