The economic development and population growth in China benefit banana farmers in the Philippines. China replaced Japan as the largest importer of bananas from the Philippines. However, banana farmers in the Philippines are in fierce competition with banana farmers from South America.
Rolando T. Dy of the Asia-Pacific Center for Food, Agriculture, and Trade explained that the rapid growth of China's middle class stimulates banana import. Dy further stated that the Chinese and Japanese banana markets are quite different. Japanese consumers eat around 8 kg of bananas per capita, but since Japanese society is ageing, the growing banana export to Japan is weakening.
Bananas from the Philippines and from Ecuador are in fierce competition for a dominant position in the Chinese market. The bananas from the Philippines seem to be winning because Chinese consumers find them sweeter and they prefer their flavor.
Source: ncw365.com