China's domestic banana production areas are gradually loosening, and the market for imported bananas is tepid, with 122,000 tons imported in September 2022, an increase of 7.94% month-on-month and 4.07% year-on-year.
The average price of imported bananas in September 2022 was about 608.78 $/ton, down 0.54% month-on-month and up 8.18% year-on-year. The export country with the most significant price decline was Costa Rica, where the import price of bananas from Costa Rica was about 830.21 $/ton in September, down 15.38% from August. The export country with the most significant price increase was Ecuador, where bananas were around 741.51$/ton in September, up 6.00% from August.
In September 2022, China's largest source of banana imports was still the Philippines, accounting for 53%. Cambodia ranked second, accounting for 22%. Ecuador came in third place, with 11%. The Philippines, the world's second-largest banana exporter, continues to shrink in the share of exports in Asia, falling to 60 percent from 90 percent last year. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Philippine banana production continues to suffer from the "combined impact" of the pandemic and banana Panama disease, resulting in "severe" production difficulties.
Meanwhile, the local production environment in the Philippines is deteriorating due to hurricane damage and higher input costs for planting, which has a significant impact on small-scale banana producers. In addition to local production problems in the Philippines, Cambodia, Vietnam, and other countries have also squeezed out a part of the Philippines' banana export share in Asia.
At present, the supply of bananas in various producing areas in China is gradually relaxed. Some parts of Guangxi are still in the peak period of listing, and the overall quality of the source of goods is high. Due to the rapid price increase some time ago, some merchants had difficulties accepting high prices. The recent market is slightly chaotic.