According to the National Superintendency of Customs and Tax Administration (Sunat), Peruvian banana exports increased by 66.3% in the last five years, going from US $89 million in 2013 to US $148 million in 2017, which represents an average annual increase of 13.6%.
Peruvian banana exports had a good performance in this period (2013-2017) because of the increase in shipments to the United States, which went from US $16 million (17.9% of all shipments) to US $44 million (29.9 %).
In addition, shipments to Finland and South Korea also increased going from US $2 million to US $7 million and from US $1.5 million to US $7 million, respectively, between 2013 and 2017.
A product with potential
Peruvian banana exports still account for a small share of the world's total banana exports. According to the International Trade Center (ITC), in 2016, Peruvian banana exports accounted for 1.4% of all global exports and the country was ranked 15th. The leading exporter of bananas in the world is Ecuador with 25.7%.
According to the ITC, in 2016 global banana imports amounted to US $ 14.635 billion. The United States led imports with US $2.63 billion (18% of the total). It was followed by Belgium, with US $1.23 billion (8.4%), Russia, with US $999 million (6.8%), Germany with 6.6%, Japan with 6.3%, and others markets that accounted for 53.7% of the total.
According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), in 2016 the production of bananas and plantains in Peru accounted for 0.27% of world production, while that of Ecuador represented a 5.2%.
According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation (Minagri), in 2016, the value of the country's banana and plantain production amounted to S/702.5 million, i.e. 0.86% more than in 2015. Meanwhile, the production volume decreased by 3.3%, as it went from 2,145,400 tons in 2015 to 2,073,995 tons in 2016. It is worth mentioning that, in the 2012-2016 period, it registered an accumulated fall of 0.4%.
Bananas and plantains grow in tropical climates, so it is not surprising that the majority of the area devoted to these crops and the biggest production volumes are found in the north of Peru and in the jungle. According to the Minagri, in 2016, there were 169,646 hectares devoted to banana and plantains, which accounts for 36.5% of the total area devoted to fruits and nuts in Peru.
Source: agraria.pe