Thanks to health awareness and a growing middle class, the popularity of bananas in China is growing, and Chinese consumers are buying more imported bananas than ever before, reported Australia's "Sydney Morning Herald". In May alone, the amount of bananas imported into China surged to a record 227,199 tons. Official data also shows that China imported 1.54 million tons of bananas in 2018, showing a sharp increase of 50% year-on-year.
Due to limited farmland and devastating banana diseases, China is increasingly relying on banana supplies from Southeast Asia and South America. China's demand for bananas has also been boosted by the increased income of its population and the growing popularity of the fruit in local diets.
Last year, China surpassed Japan and became the largest import market for bananas from the Philippines, purchasing more than 2/3 of its export bananas. China is also expanding supplies from other banana-growing countries such as Mexico and Cambodia. Prices of local fruit were at a historically high level last month, driving China’s total imports of fruit and nuts to soar.
Source: Wanguo Fengyunhui