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Bananas Exporters Ranked by Average Prices & Shipment Weight

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Sliced bananas plus peels
Banana slices
Excluding plantains, the average unit price paid for exported bananas in 2020 was US$509 per ton. That dollar amount reflects a 2.2% increase from the global average unit price of $498 per ton for 2019.

Sweet-tasting bananas are sometimes called dessert bananas, as distinct from plantains that are typically used for cooking a variety of dishes.

The world’s lowest average unit price for the sweet fruit that grows in bunches is $86 per ton of bananas exported from the East African nation Burundi.

Chile in South America is the costliest exporter of bananas, charging an average $13,800 per ton.

As quantified by weight totals for 2020, total shipments of fresh or dried bananas excluding plantains amounted to 26.3 million tons.

That global shipment tonnage reflects a 1% increase from 2019 and a 37.1% expansion over the 5-year period starting in 2016.

The biggest exporters of bananas in terms of shipment volume are Ecuador, Philippines, Costa Rica, Guatemala and Colombia. That subset of 5 leading bananas exporters represents about three-quarters (67.6%) of globally exported bananas by weight.

For research purposes, the 6-digit Harmonized Tariff System code prefix is 080390 for fresh or dried bananas excluding plantains.

Lowest and Highest Unit Prices for Exported Bananas

In 2020, the world’s average unit price for exported bananas was US$509 per ton.

The average tonnage charge for the number one bananas exporter, Ecuador, was $508 per ton almost mirroring the global average.

Ranked in ascending order, listed below are the 20 countries charging the least expensive average unit prices for exported bananas in 2020.

  1. Burundi: US$86 per ton (down -45.9% from $159 in 2019)
  2. Zimbabwe: $167 per ton (up 15.2% from $145)
  3. Ethiopia: $208 per ton (down -8% from $226)
  4. Panama: $216 per ton (up 0.9% from $214)
  5. Mali: $227 per ton (2019 data unavailable)
  6. Pakistan: $233 per ton (down -18.2% from $285)
  7. Nicaragua: $234 per ton (down -8.6% from $256)
  8. Tonga: $235 per ton (up 5.9% from $222)
  9. Tanzania: $239 per ton (up 1393.8% from $16)
  10. Mozambique: $245 per ton (up 0.4% from $244)
  11. Eswatini: $257 per ton (down -12% from $292)
  12. Paraguay: $269 per ton (up 53.7% from $175)
  13. Malaysia: $309 per ton (down -1.6% from $314)
  14. Brazil: $310 per ton (up 0.6% from $308)
  15. Bolivia: $311 per ton (up 13.9% from $273)
  16. Uganda: $321 per ton (down -40.8% from $542)
  17. Guatemala: $345 per ton (down -0.3% from $346)
  18. Laos: $404 per ton (up 54.2% from $262)
  19. Cambodia: $406 per ton (down -7.7% from $440)
  20. Costa Rica: $412 per ton (down -1.7% from $419)

Posting double-digit reductions in average unit price per ton for bananas from 2019 to 2020 were low-cost exporters Burundi (down -45.9%), Uganda (down -40.8%), Pakistan (down -18.2%) and Eswatini (down -12%).

The following 20 countries exported bananas costing the highest average unit prices.

  1. Chile: US$13,800 per ton (down -0.3% from $13,840 in 2019)
  2. United Arab Emirates: $5,333 per ton (up 484.1% from $913)
  3. Nigeria: $4,875 per ton (up 298.9% from $1,222)
  4. Senegal: $3,500 per ton (up 755.7% from $409)
  5. Bangladesh: $3,290 per ton (up 12.1% from $2,935)
  6. Belarus: $3,250 per ton (up 18.2% from $2,750)
  7. Sri Lanka: $3,078 per ton (up 16.2% from $2,650)
  8. El Salvador: $3,000 per ton (2019 data unavailable)
  9. Myanmar: $2,689 per ton (2019 data unavailable)
  10. Canada: $2,585 per ton (down -24.7% from $3,431)
  11. Australia: $2,156 per ton (up 6.5% from $2,024)
  12. Fiji: $2,000 per ton (up 128.6% from $875)
  13. Uruguay: $2,000 per ton (2019 data unavailable)
  14. Afghanistan: $1,833 per ton (2019 data unavailable)
  15. Kenya: $1,800 per ton (up 2.9% from $1,750)
  16. Iceland: $1,731 per ton (down -37.1% from $2,750)
  17. Taiwan: $1,630 per ton (up 11.4% from $1,463)
  18. Luxembourg: $1,496 per ton (up 0.1% from $1,495)
  19. Switzerland: $1,469 per ton (up 21.5% from $1,209)
  20. New Zealand: $1,417 per ton (down -31.4% from $2,067)

The 4 strongest gains in terms of higher average unit prices for 2020 compared to 2019 were for bananas delivered by Senegal (up 755.7%), United Arab Emirates (up 484.1%), Nigeria (up 298.9%) and Fiji (up 128.6%)

Major Bananas Export Countries by Shipment Weight

Bananas were exported from international suppliers in 120 countries, islands or territories in 2021.

From a continental perspective, 62% of the world’s exports of bananas originated from Latin America excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean. In second place were suppliers in Asia (19.4%) trailed by Europe (10.8%) and North America (3.8%). A miniscule 0.002% came from exporters in Oceania led by Guam and Australia.

Below are the top 20 countries that exported the highest dollar value worth of bananas during 2020.

  1. Ecuador: 7,039,848 tons (26.7% tons of bananas exports)
  2. Philippines: 3,725,081 tons (14.2%)
  3. Costa Rica: 2,623,530 tons (10%)
  4. Guatemala: 2,367,035 tons (9%)
  5. Colombia: 2,034,001 tons (7.7%)
  6. Belgium: 914,377 tons (3.5%)
  7. Netherlands: 792,216 tons (3%)
  8. Panama: 699,802 tons (2.7%)
  9. United States: 592,463 tons (2.3%)
  10. Honduras: 560,411 tons (2.1%)
  11. Ivory Coast: 468,522 tons (1.8%)
  12. Mexico: 405,682 tons (1.5%)
  13. Germany: 301,706 tons (1.1%)
  14. Cameroon: 299,526 tons (1.1%)
  15. Vietnam: 292,457 tons (1.1%)
  16. Cambodia: 278,017 tons (1.1%)
  17. Dominican Republic: 268,738 tons (1%)
  18. India: 212,016 tons (0.8%)
  19. Peru: 211,164 tons (0.8%)
  20. Turkey: 201,553 tons (0.8%)

As measured by weight, the listed 20 countries shipped 92.3% of globally exported bananas in 2020.

Among the top bananas suppliers, the fastest-growing sellers on international markets since 2019 were: Cambodia (up 147.5%), India (up 22%), Vietnam (up 14.8%), Ivory Coast (up 13.9%), Costa Rica (up 10.1%) and Panama (up 8.9%).

Those countries that endured double-digit shrinkage in their exported bananas sales were: Dominican Republic (down -31.7%), Mexico (down -19.3%), Turkey (down -16.9%) and the Philippines (down -14.4%).

See also Bananas Exports by Country, Bananas Imports by Country, Top Saffron Exports & Imports by Country Plus Average Prices, Top Cranberries Exports & Imports by Country Plus Average Prices and Top Figs Exports & Imports by Country Plus Average Prices

Research Sources:
Alibaba, Bananas Showroom. Accessed on January 31, 2022

Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Field Listing: Exports – Commodities. Accessed on January 31, 2022

International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on January 31, 2022

Wikipedia, Banana. Accessed on January 31, 2022