Bananas continue to reign as the world’s most valuable imported fresh or dried fruit. Some nutritionists refer to bananas as nature’s perfect food because they contain essential vitamins and minerals including potassium.

Excluding plantains, imported bananas were worth US14.5 billion in 2020 well ahead of fresh or dried grapes ($11.6 billion) and fresh or dried apples ($7.7 billion).

Imports of bananas also greatly exceeded purchases of fresh or dried plantains, which resemble bananas but attracted a much smaller $842.4 million in global import spending.

From 2019 to 2020, the dollar amount spent on imported bananas declined by -5.6%.

The 5 most compelling consumer markets for selling imported bananas generated well over four-fifths (45.3%) of total global purchases of bananas bought on international markets in 2020. The strongest revenues from buying imported bananas were posted by: United States (17.6% of the world total), Russia (7.7%), Japan (6.8%), Germany (6.6%) and China (6.5%).

Among these 5 key import markets for bananas, the strongest buying increase was the 3% gain generated by importers in Japan, representing the world’s third-greatest demand for imported bananas. In contrast, imports of bananas into mainland China slowed by -14.7% year over year while Germany’s purchases of imported bananas slipped by -4% since 2019.

In most countries, bananas are readily available at many outlets from vast grocery chains to corner stores and even smaller cafeterias at schools or workplaces.

By comparing changes in consumer demand for imported bananas by buyer country highlighted in this article, researchers can uncover the most compelling opportunities for selling bananas and related products and services on international markets.

Bananas Are Consumer Convenience Products

Bananas satisfy the criteria of a consumer good (also called an end product) created for consumers to buy in its final form to satisfy their appetites, often as a healthy snack or dessert. In contrast, products like turbojets are usually purchased by companies or government entities rather than individuals.

Economists classify bananas as convenience products, a technical classification for goods that are easily accessed and purchased relatively often. Many shoppers buy bananas on weekly trips to their local grocery shops or as daily snacks at school or work.

According to EatByDate.com, fresh bananas can last from 2 to 7 days displayed on counters, 2 to 9 days when refrigerated, and from 2 to 3 months in the freezer.

Imported Bananas by Country

The pre-sorted list below showcases marketing intelligence for the top 100 buyers of bananas, ranked in descending order starting with the greatest annual sales amount at the 6-digit Harmonized System (HS) code level. For bananas, the HS code prefix is 080390 which excludes plantains.

Also shown is each import country’s percentage change in purchases of international imported bananas from 2019 to 2020

United States: US$2,549,996,000 (up 0.8% from 2019)
Russia: $1,116,757,000 (down -0.3%)
Japan: $987,382,000 (up 3%)
Germany: $956,236,000 (down -4%)
China: $933,105,000 (down -14.7%)
Netherlands: $870,474,000 (up 3.3%)
United Kingdom: $691,827,000 (down -2.7%)
France: $593,361,000 (up 10.5%)
Italy: $512,138,000 (up 2.4%)
Canada: $417,268,000 (up 1.7%)
Belgium: $388,228,000 (up 123.5%)
Poland: $332,101,000 (up 18.4%)
South Korea: $275,864,000 (down -8.5%)
Argentina: $241,562,000 (up 24%)
Spain: $204,510,000 (down -8.1%)
Ukraine: $177,586,000 (up 13.3%)
Turkey: $169,984,000 (down -6.2%)
Portugal: $156,848,000 (up 16.9%)
Sweden: $153,671,000 (down -1.9%)
Iraq: $145,029,000 (up 14.9%)
Greece: $138,352,000 (down -6.4%)
Romania: $135,069,000 (down -1.8%)
Czech Republic: $132,708,000 (down -7%)
Austria: $130,168,000 (up 1.4%)
Algeria: $127,830,000 (up 30.9%)
Iran: $124,230,000 (down -15.9%)
Switzerland: $107,987,000 (up 5%)
United Arab Emirates: $101,240,000 (down -16.6%)
Chile: $90,904,000 (up 9%)
Finland: $87,178,000 (down -5.1%)
Denmark: $80,866,000 (down -6.1%)
New Zealand: $70,649,000 (down -1.4%)
Slovenia: $65,928,000 (up 17%)
Norway: $64,933,000 (down -1.4%)
Serbia: $62,425,000 (up 10.7%)
Slovakia: $60,977,000 (down -14.3%)
Ireland: $57,329,000 (down -9.7%)
Hong Kong: $54,213,000 (up 1%)
Croatia: $53,510,000 (down -14.1%)
Hungary: $43,457,000 (up 26.5%)
South Africa: $40,447,000 (down -5.5%)
Azerbaijan: $38,752,000 (up 35.2%)
Lithuania: $36,321,000 (up 11.5%)
Bulgaria: $36,057,000 (up 23.7%)
Kazakhstan: $32,947,000 (up 2.6%)
Kuwait: $32,531,000 (down -41.4%)
Bosnia/Herzegovina: $32,498,000 (down -6.8%)
Singapore: $32,339,000 (up 4.4%)
Jordan: $31,496,000 (up 46.9%)
Latvia: $29,944,000 (down -5%)
Uzbekistan: $25,878,000 (down -19.4%)
Tunisia: $25,765,000 (down -7.7%)
Afghanistan: $23,871,000 (no data)
Uruguay: $23,386,000 (down -5.4%)
Syrian Arab Republic: $23,327,000 (down -30.4%)
Panama: $22,969,000 (down -8.2%)
Albania: $22,323,000 (up 88.9%)
Oman: $18,807,000 (down -21.8%)
Estonia: $16,482,000 (up 1%)
Moldova: $16,193,000 (up 14.9%)
Georgia: $15,379,000 (down -10.1%)
Belarus: $15,257,000 (down -73.2%)
Vietnam: $15,247,000 (down -69.4%)
Malaysia: $14,790,000 (down -0.1%)
Armenia: $14,019,000 (down -8.1%)
Thailand: $12,730,000 (up 179.1%)
Morocco: $11,774,000 (up 8.2%)
Libya: $11,159,000 (up 45.8%)
Luxembourg: $9,150,000 (up 7%)
Kyrgyzstan: $8,780,000 (down -11.3%)
Tajikistan: $7,945,000 (down -1.9%)
Senegal: $7,944,000 (up 12313%)
Malta: $7,015,000 (down -5.1%)
El Salvador: $6,813,000 (up 4%)
Montenegro: $6,715,000 (up 3.1%)
Bahrain: $6,281,000 (up 1099%)
Egypt: $6,162,000 (up 77.2%)
Botswana: $5,959,000 (up 9.3%)
Cyprus: $4,690,000 (down -18.8%)
Nepal: $4,001,000 (down -75.4%)
Macao: $3,861,000 (up 6%)
Trinidad/Tobago: $3,725,000 (down -5.2%)
Qatar: $3,277,000 (down -10.7%)
Iceland: $2,886,000 (down -0.4%)
Brunei Darussalam: $2,642,000 (up 124.3%)
Namibia: $2,491,000 (down -14.4%)
Bahamas: $2,378,000 (down -5.1%)
Mongolia: $1,767,000 (down -25%)
Curacao: $1,650,000 (up 42.6%)
Honduras: $1,603,000 (up 279.9%)
Saudi Arabia: $1,304,000 (down -98.6%)
Aruba: $1,039,000 (down -25.3%)
Costa Rica: $1,035,000 (down -51.3%)
Maldives: $873,000 (down -55.1%)
Barbados: $871,000 (up 269.1%)
North Korea: $857,000 (down -89.8%)
Cayman Islands: $782,000 (down -21.6%)
Lesotho: $773,000 (down -23%)
Turks/Caicos Is: $770,000 (down -4.3%)
Faroe Islands: $682,000 (down -58.9%)

Among the above 100 global markets, 44 countries increased their spending on imported bananas. The 7 strongest percentage gains year over year were posted by Senegal (up 12,313%), Bahrain (up 1,099%), Honduras (up 279.9%), Barbados (up 269.1%), Thailand (up 179.9%), Brunei Darussalam (up 124.3%) and Belgium (up 123.5%).

Leading percentage declines for the remaining 56 bananas-importing countries was Saudi Arabia via -98.6% annual drop.

Significant reductions in bananas imported by value were also experienced by North Korea (down -89.8%), Nepal (down -75.4%), Belarus (down -73.2%), Vietnam (down -69.4%), Faroe Islands (down -58.9%), Maldives (down -55.1%) and Costa Rica (down -51.3%).

Richest Global Markets for Imported Bananas

Illustrated below is the market demand for bananas imported during 2020 by 30 of world’s richest countries in terms of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per person, according to RichestCountryReports.com.

Countries are listed in descending order starting with the wealthiest economy in terms of GDP per capita.

Luxembourg: US$9.2 million (Up 7%)
Singapore: $32.3 million (Up 4.4%)
Ireland: $57.3 million (Down -9.7%)
Qatar: $3.3 million (Down -10.7%)
Macao: $3.9 million (Up 6%)
Switzerland: $108 million (Up 5%)
Norway: $64.9 million (Down -1.4%)
United States: $2.5 billion (Up 0.8%)
Brunei Darussalam: $2.6 million (Up 124.3%)
Hong Kong: $54.2 million (Up 1%)
Denmark: $80.9 million (Down -6.1%)
Netherlands: $870.5 million (Up 3.3%)
United Arab Emirates: $101.2 million (Down -16.6%)
Taiwan: $3,000 (Down -57.1%)
Iceland: $2.9 million (Down -0.4%)
Austria: $130.2 million (Up 1.4%)
Germany: $956.2 million (Down -4%)
Sweden: $153.7 million (Down -1.9%)
Australia: $315,000 (Up 34.6%)
Belgium: $388.2 million (Up 123.5%)
Finland: $87.2 million (Down -5.1%)
Canada: $417.3 million (Up 1.7%)
Bahrain: $6.3 million (Up 1098.7%)
France: $593.4 million (Up 10.5%)
Saudi Arabia: $1.3 million (Down -98.6%)
United Kingdom: $691.8 million (Down -2.7%)
South Korea: $275.9 million (Down -8.5%)
Malta: $7 million (Down -5.1%)
Japan: $987.4 million (Up 3%)
New Zealand: $70.6 million (Down -1.4%)

Among the above wealthiest economies per capita, 15 spent more on imported bananas in 2020 compared to 2019. The leading gainers were Bahrain (up 1,099%), Brunei Darussalam (up 124.3%), Belgium (up 123.5%), Australia (up 34.6%) and France (up 10.5%).

Registering double-digit declines in their purchases of imported bananas were: Saudi Arabia (down -98.6%), Taiwan (down -57.1%), United Arab Emirates (down -16.6%) and Qatar (down -10.7%).

US Demand for Imported Bananas

In 2020, the United States of America retained its place as the world’s number 1 market for imported bananas sales as measured by total purchases worth $2.5 billion in US dollars.

America’s 5 biggest bananas suppliers (Guatemala, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Honduras, Mexico) garnered 89.9% of total US purchases of bananas from international markets.

The following 15 countries benefited the most from selling imported bananas to customers in the United States in 2020.

Guatemala: US$967.2 million (37.9% of US total)
Costa Rica: $460.5 million (18.1%)
Ecuador: $390.2 million (15.3%)
Honduras: $243.9 million (9.6%)
Mexico: $230.1 million (9.0%)
Colombia: $180.7 million (7.1%)
Peru: $48.8 million (1.9%)
Panama: $14.9 million (0.6%)
Nicaragua: $3.7 million (0.1%)
Thailand: $2.7 million (0.1%)
Philippines: $2.4 million (0.1%)
Dominican Republic: $2 million (0.1%)
China: $1.6 million (0.1%)
Brazil: $370,000 (0.01%)
Chile: $331,000 (0.01%)

The above 15 international providers sold 99.98% of the $2.5 billion worth of imported bananas delivered to the United States during 2020.

Year over year, the fastest-growing suppliers of bananas to American buyers from 2019 to 2020 were Dominican Republic (up 204.4%), Panama (up 159.4%), Nicaragua (up 155%), Brazil (up 143.4%) and mainland China (up 41.9%).

Key American States for Buying Imported Bananas

There were 3 American states where fresh or dried bananas (excluding plantains) rank among that entity’s top 25 imported products by value in 2020.

Florida: US$995 million worth of imported bananas (up 0.6% from 2019)
Delaware: $323.5 million (down -2%)
Mississippi: $152.2 million (up 1%)

Based on the above metrics, Florida exhibits the most robust market demand among US states. Collectively, the above 3 American states bought 57.7% of the total cost of bananas imported into the United States during 2020.

Unit Costs by Major US Bananas Suppliers

The United States of America paid a wide range of unit costs per cubic meter of imported bananas in 2020, depending on the bananas shipper’s country of origin.

Below, you will find the average unit price that American importers paid to 15 of the top suppliers of bananas to the US in 2020. They are presented in descending order starting with the nations that supplied the highest total dollar value worth of bananas that the US bought on international markets.

Guatemala: US$516 per ton (down -0.8% from 2019)
Costa Rica: $545 (down -1.1%)
Ecuador: $578 (up 8.9%)
Honduras: $509 (up 1.6%)
Mexico: $581 (up 1.4%)
Colombia: $634 (down -3.9%)
Peru: $646 (up 0.6%)
Panama: $530 (up 11.6%)
Nicaragua: $524 (down -12.1%)
Thailand: $9,938 (up 4.9%)
Philippines: $2,570 (up 3.3%)
Dominican Republic: $607 (up 6.7%)
China: $12,450 (down -4.3%)
Brazil: $5,781 (up 78.8%)
Chile: $15,762 (down -1.2%)

The lowest unit costs per ton of bananas imported into the United States belongs to suppliers in Honduras, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Panama, Costa Rica, Ecuador and Mexico.

America pays the highest unit price per ton of bananas to suppliers in the more distant Chile, China, Thailand, Brazil and the Philippines.

The fastest growth in unit cost per ton for bananas suppliers to America belongs to Brazil (up 78.8% from 2019).

World’s Biggest Bananas Companies

The following 4 largest multinationals sell bananas both domestically and on international markets.

Combined, this cohort of massive global bananas conglomerates accounted for 80% of global bananas sales.

Chiquita (Fort Lauderdale, United States)
Fyffes (Dublin, Ireland)
Dole (Westlake Village, United States)
Del Monte (Contra Costa Center, United States)

References

Independent insights and analysis presented in this article are based on researched facts and statistics sourced from the following educational portals.

BoyceWire, Consumer Goods Definition.

Eat By Date, How Long Do Bananas Last?.

Forbes, The Forbes Global 2000 List.

International Trade Centre, Trade Map.

Investopedia, Consumer Goods, Consumer Staples Definition, Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG).

Richest Country Reports, Top 50 Richest Countries by GDP per Capita.

United States Census Bureau, Foreign Trade State Data.

USITC DataWeb, US Merchandise Trade: Imports for Consumption.

Wikipedia, Bananas.

World’s Top Exports, Bananas Exports by Country.