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 $3 per ton of bananas exported from Trinidad and Tobago.
Switzerland ranks as the costliest exporter of bananas in 2021, charging an average $8,500 per ton.
As quantified by weight, total shipments of fresh or dried bananas excluding plantains amounted to 36.9 million tons.
That global shipment tonnage reflects a 40.1% increase from 26.3 million tons for 2020 and an 80.4% acceleration over the 5-year period starting in 2017.
The biggest exporters of bananas in terms of shipment volume are Ivory Coast, Ecuador, Ghana, Guatemala, and the Philippines. That leading subset of 5 bananas exporters sold over three-fifths (61.8%) of globally exported bananas by weight.
For research purposes, the 4-digit Harmonized Tariff System code prefix is 0803 for fresh or dried bananas excluding plantains.
Lowest and Highest Unit Prices for Exported Bananas
The average tonnage charge for the number one bananas exporter by weight, Ivory Coast, was US$55 per ton. That dollar average is well below the global average unit price of $376 per ton.
Ranked in ascending order, listed below are the 20 countries charging the least expensive average unit prices for exported bananas in 2021.
- Trinidad/Tobago: US$3 per ton (same as 2020)
- Burundi: $22 per ton (down -75% from $88 in 2020)
- Ghana: $28 per ton (down -3.4% from $29)
- Ivory Coast: $55 per ton (down -84.3% from $351)
- Tanzania: $55 per ton (down -76% from $229)
- Zambia: $103 per ton (down -1.9% from $105)
- Zimbabwe: $177 per ton (up 9.9% from $161)
- Malawi: $182 per ton (down -54.5% from $400)
- Ethiopia: $216 per ton (up 11.9% from $193)
- Pakistan: $232 per ton (down -0.9% from $234)
- Tonga: $240 per ton (up 5.7% from $227)
- Nicaragua: $249 per ton (up 1.2% from $246)
- Mauritania: $263 per ton (2020 data unavailable)
- Mozambique: $269 per ton (up 8.9% from $247)
- Laos: $285 per ton (down -5.3% from $301)
- Eswatini: $285 per ton (up 11.8% from $255)
- Angola: $308 per ton (up 37.5% from $224)
- Malaysia: $312 per ton (up 1% from $309)
- Panama: $317 per ton (up 46.1% from $217)
- Paraguay: $329 per ton (up 22.3% from $269)
Posting the greatest percentage reductions in average unit price per ton for bananas from 2020 to 2021 were low-cost exporters Ivory Coast (down -84.3%), Tanzania (down -76%), Burundi (down -75%) and Malawii (down -54.5%).
The following 20 countries exported bananas costing the highest average unit prices.
- Switzerland: US$8,500 per ton (up 448% from $1,551 in 2020)
- Oman: $8,000 per ton (up 2,141% from $357)
- Japan: $8,000 per ton (2020 data unavailable)
- Aruba: $6,000 per ton (2020 data unavailable))
- Kenya: $5,444 per ton (up 211.1% from $1,750)
- Canada: $4,585 per ton (up 85.9% from $2,466)
- Bosnia/Herzegovina: $4,000 per ton (up 629.9% from $548)
- Belarus: $3,333 per ton (up 2.6% from $3,250)
- New Zealand: $2,846 per ton (up 95.2% from $1,458)
- Bangladesh: $2,727 per ton (up 51.8% from $1,797)
- Rwanda: $2,650 per ton (up 47.1% from $1,802)
- Australia: $2,511 per ton (up 1.7% from $2,468)
- Madagascar: $2,400 per ton (up 474.2% from $418)
- Uganda: $2,338 per ton (2020 data unavailable))
- Uruguay: $2,324 per ton (up 10.7% from $2,100)
- Fiji: $2,000 per ton (down -2.1% from $2,042)
- Democratic Republic of the Congo: $2,000 per ton (2020 data unavailable))
- Iceland: $1,966 per ton (up 13.8% from $1,727)
- El Salvador: $1,909 per ton (down -28.4% from $2,667)
- Montserrat: $1,802 per ton (2020 data unavailable))
Focusing on the above exporters, the 5 strongest gains in terms of higher average unit prices for 2021 compared to 2020 were for bananas delivered by Oman (up 2,141%), Bosnia and Herzegovina (up 629.9%), Madagascar (up 474.2%), Switzerland (up 448%), and Kenya (up 211.1%).
Major Bananas Export Countries by Shipment Weight
Bananas were exported from international suppliers about 140 countries, islands or territories in 2021.
Below are the top 20 countries that exported the highest dollar value worth of bananas during 2021.
- Ivory Coast: 7,238,480 tons (19.6% tons of exported bananas)
- Ecuador: 7,026,500 tons (19.1%)
- Ghana: 3,480,326 tons (9.4%)
- Guatemala: 2,605,784 tons (7.1%)
- Philippines: 2,428,194 tons (6.6%)
- Costa Rica: 2,326,811 tons (6.3%)
- Colombia: 2,249,888 tons (6.1%)
- Belgium: 965,223 tons (2.6%)
- Netherlands: 854,178 tons (2.3%)
- Burkina Faso: 800,000 tons (2.2%)
- Laos: 776,007 tons (2.1%)
- United States: 611,349 tons (1.7%)
- Panama: 465,727 tons (1.3%)
- Vietnam: 385,329 tons (1.0%)
- Dominican Republic: 372,989 tons (1.0%)
- Cambodia: 355,990 tons (1.0%)
- India: 341,543 tons (0.9%)
- Germany: 338,752 tons (0.9%)
- Cameroon: 322,098 tons (0.9%)
- Honduras: 318,616 tons (0.9%)
As measured by weight, the listed 20 countries shipped 92.9% of globally exported bananas in 2021.
Among the top banana suppliers by volume, the fastest-growing exporters on international markets since 2020 were: Ivory Coast (up 1,483%), Burkina Faso (up 100%), India (up 60.5%), Vietnam (up 31.5%), and Cambodia (up 28%).
Those major providers that endured double-digit shrinkage in their exported bananas sales were: Honduras (down -41.3% from 2020), Philippines (down -34.8%), Panama (down -33.5%), then Costa Rica (down -11.5%).
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 September 30, 2022
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Field Listing: Exports – Commodities. Accessed on September 30, 2022
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on September 30, 2022
Wikipedia, Banana. Accessed on September 30, 2022
