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Ecuador’s Bananas Exports by Country

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Ecuador bananas harvest (courtesy of Pixabay.com)
Ecuador’s bananas harvest
In 2021, Ecuador exported US$3.5 billion worth of bananas delivered to 67 importing countries worldwide.

That dollar amount reflects a 15.2% increase from $3.04 billion sold in 2017.

Year over year, the value of Ecuador’s bananas exported worldwide fell by -4.9% compared to $3.68 billion during 2020.

Blessed with plantations located in the northwestern part of South America, Ecuador is the world’s number one exporter of bananas including plantains.

The latest metrics confirm Ecuador’s position as the leading exporter of bananas well ahead of the Philippines, Costa Rica, Colombia and Guatemala.

From a continental perspective, European countries bought $1.84 billion worth of exported bananas from Ecuador equaling 52.7% of overall such import purchases. Asia was a distant second consuming 19.5% of Ecuador’s exported bananas trailed by North American importers at 14.7%, Latin America at 6.9% then Africa (5.3%) and Oceania (0.9%) mostly New Zealand.

Below, you will uncover more insights on worldwide demand for Ecuador’s bananas exports both at the country and continent level.

Ecuador’s Bananas Exports by Country

Below are the 15 countries that spent the most on exported bananas from Ecuador during 2021.

  1. Russia: US$698.9 million (20% of Ecuador’s bananas exports)
  2. United States: $511.1 million (14.6%)
  3. Netherlands: $200.9 million (5.7%)
  4. Turkey: $199.2 million (5.7%)
  5. Germany: $151.5 million (4.3%)
  6. Italy: $141.2 million (4%)
  7. Argentina: $119.6 million (3.4%)
  8. Belgium: $119.3 million (3.4%)
  9. Chile: $113.8 million (3.3%)
  10. Saudi Arabia: $99.1 million (2.8%)
  11. Algeria: $96.9 million (2.8%)
  12. China: $96.6 million (2.8%)
  13. Ukraine: $79.5 million (2.3%)
  14. Japan: $72.9 million (2.1%)
  15. Sweden: $69.3 million (2%)

The listed 15 countries shipped 79.1% of bananas exported from Ecuador in 2021. All told, Ecuador exported bananas to an overall total of 67 different countries or territories.

Among the top 15 countries, the fastest-growing markets for Ecuadorean bananas since 2017 were: Algeria (up 1,208%), Netherlands (up 187.7%), Turkey (up 89.3%), Sweden (up 67.8%), Chile (up 48.6%) then mainland China (up 42.7%).

A trio posted declines in their purchases of bananas from Ecuador namely Italy (down -47.8% from 2017), Germany (down -42.5%) and Argentina (down -13.4%).

Buyers in Europe for Ecuador’s Exported Bananas

Nineteen of Ecuador’s 28 trading partners in Europe purchased at least $10 million worth of Ecuadorean bananas in 2021. By value, the top 10 customers below consumed 88.5% of Ecuadorian bananas exported to Europe.

  1. Russia: $698.9 million (37.9% of total bananas exports)
  2. Netherlands: $200.9 million (10.9%)
  3. Germany: $151.5 million (8.2%)
  4. Italy: $141.2 million (7.7%)
  5. Belgium: $119.3 million (6.5%)
  6. Ukraine: $79.5 million (4.3%)
  7. Sweden: $69.3 million (3.8%)
  8. Greece: $64.1 million (3.5%)
  9. Slovenia: $55.1 million (3%)
  10. United Kingdom: $51.6 million (2.8%)
  11. Poland: $38.9 million (2.1%)
  12. Spain: $30.4 million (1.6%)
  13. Croatia: $28.4 million (1.5%)
  14. Albania: $20.2 million (1.1%)
  15. Lithuania: $19.6 million (1.1%)
  16. Bulgaria: $19.5 million (1.1%)
  17. Norway: $15.8 million (0.9%)
  18. Montenegro: $12.8 million (0.7%)
  19. Finland: $8.2 million (0.4%)
  20. Malta: $5.5 million (0.3%)
  21. Portugal: $5.1 million (0.3%)
  22. France: $3.2 million (0.2%)
  23. Denmark: $1.62 million (0.1%)
  24. Cyprus: $1.57 million (0.1%)
  25. Romania: $507,000 (0.03%)
  26. Ireland: $324,000 (0.02%)
  27. Serbia: $105,000 (0.01%)

The value of Ecuador’s exported bananas sent to Europe increased by 8.3% over the 5-year period starting in 2017 and improved by 2.3% from 2020 to 2021.

Buyers in Asia for Ecuador’s Exported Bananas

Ten of Ecuador’s 23 trading partners in Asia imported at least $10 million worth of Ecuadorean bananas in 2021. The top 10 customers below represent 95.7% of Ecuador’s total bananas exported to Asia.

  1. Turkey: $199.2 million (29.1% of total bananas exports)
  2. Saudi Arabia: $99.1 million (14.5%)
  3. China: $96.6 million (14.1%)
  4. Japan: $72.9 million (10.7%)
  5. Iraq: $56.1 million (8.2%)
  6. United Arab Emirates: $55.1 million (8.1%)
  7. Georgia: $38.4 million (5.6%)
  8. Kuwait: $15.8 million (2.3%)
  9. South Korea: $11.9 million (1.7%)
  10. Jordan: $9.6 million (1.4%)
  11. Hong Kong: $7.6 million (1.1%)
  12. Qatar: $6.5 million (0.9%)
  13. Kyrgyzstan: $4.1 million (0.6%)
  14. Oman: $2.4 million (0.4%)
  15. Azerbaijan: $1.8 million (0.3%)
  16. Uzbekistan: $1.6 million (0.2%)
  17. Bahrain: $1.5 million (0.2%)
  18. Armenia: $1.4 million (0.2%)
  19. Tajikistan: $1.3 million (0.2%)
  20. Singapore: $853,000 (0.1%)
  21. Lebanon: $239,000 (0.03%)
  22. Kazakhstan: $47,000 (0.01%)

The value of Ecuador’s exported bananas delivered in Asia increased by 21.2% over the 5-year period starting in 2017 but shrank -20% from 2020 to 2021.

Buyers in North America for Ecuador’s Exported Bananas

Buying US$511.1 million worth in 2021, the United States of America consumed 99.3% of Ecuadorean bananas exported to North America as measured in US dollars.

No Ecuadorean bananas were bought by Mexico while the more distant Canada did purchase $3.53 million worth of bananas from Ecuador during 2021.

The value of Ecuador’s exported bananas sent to North America increased by 3.4% over the 5-year period starting in 2017 but fell by -14.2% from 2020 to 2021.

Buyers in Latin America & Caribbean for Ecuador’s Banana Exports

A total US$241.5 million worth of Ecuador’s bananas were delivered to Latin America (excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean) or 6.9% of Ecuador’s worldwide exported bananas.

Two of Ecuador’s 7 trading partners in Latin America (excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean) imported at least $10 million worth of Ecuadorean bananas in 2021.

  1. Argentina: $119.6 million (49.5% of total bananas exports)
  2. Chile: $113.8 million (47.1%)
  3. Uruguay: $6.5 million (2.7%)
  4. Colombia: $988,000 (0.4%)
  5. Costa Rica: $537,000 (0.22%)
  6. Brazil: $60,000 (0.025%)
  7. Peru: $4,000 (0.002%)

The value of Ecuador’s exported bananas sent to Latin America and the Caribbean increased by about 6.7% over the 5-year period starting in 2017 encompassing a 4.4% gain from 2020 to 2021.

Customers in Africa & Oceania for Ecuador’s Exported Bananas

Six countries in Africa imported a total $187.1 million worth of Ecuadorean exported bananas in 2021.

  1. Algeria: US$96.9 million (51.8% of Africa’s total)
  2. Morocco: $37.8 million (20.2%)
  3. Tunisia: $24.9 million (13.3%)
  4. Libya: $19.5 million (10.4%)
  5. Egypt: $5.7 million (3%)
  6. South Africa: $2.25 million (1.2%)

The value of Ecuador’s exported bananas sent to Africa accelerated by 716.8% over the 5-year period starting in 2017 including a 14% uptick from 2020 to 2021.

Ecuador sold $30.2 million worth of bananas to New Zealand in 2021. The only other Oceanian country to import Ecuadorean bananas was Australia whose purchases totaled $24,000.

The overall value of Ecuador’s bananas exported to those Oceanian importers depreciated by -10.1% since 2017 and flatlined via a 0.1% year-over-year upturn from 2020.
 
See also Ecuador’s Top 10 Exports, Ecuador’s Top 10 Imports, Bananas Exports by Country and Bananas Imports by Country

Research Sources
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on December 8, 2022

Wikipedia, Banana. Accessed on December 8, 2022

Wikipedia, Ecuador. Accessed on December 8, 2022