"The Ecuadorian banana imports to Japan have decreased a lot compared to last year," said a banana importer company from Ecuador in Japan. The decreased amount of Ecuadorian banana imported into Japan has been due primarily to great imports of Philippine bananas to Japan. This has occurred largely because of the restrictions that China has imposed this year on Filipino bananas, so the Philippines have destined their fruit to other markets such as Korea, the Middle East and Japan.
On the other hand, Japan has a greater amount of domestic fruit for the domestic market due to reduced export of bananas. One of the main causes of low Japanese banana exports has been the decrease in orders from international customers due to the consequences brought by last year's Tsunami, and particularly because of the damage to nuclear plants.
Besides having a smaller volume of Ecuadorian bananas entering the Japanese market, prices are not great. This year, prices are lower compared to last year at this time. Although the prices are not the best at this time, in August it is expected to decrease much more due to demand and banana consumption tends to decrease for that period. The main reason for the decline in the banana consumption in August is the intense summer where consumers prefer to buy fruits such as citrus and grapes, instead of bananas.