Year over year, shipments of bananas expanded by 15.8% compared to 31.6 million tons for 2020.
The world’s top exporters of bananas ranked by total shipment weight are Ivory Coast, Ecuador, Ghana, Guatemala, Philippines and Costa Rica. Combined, those 6 top suppliers of bananas sold 25.1 million tons of bananas during 2021 or over two-thirds (68.7%) of worldwide shipments by weight.
Just two among the 10 biggest exporters of bananas (Belgium and Netherlands) sold bananas on international markets in 2021 at average unit prices higher than our calculated global average price of US$617 per ton.
Top Bananas Export Countries by Shipment Weight
The top 50 exporters of bananas as measured by tonnage are listed below. Based on that weight metric, these key suppliers of bananas on international markets accounted for 99.6% of the world’s bananas exported in 2021.
| Bananas Exporter | Tons | 2020-1 | 2017-21 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ivory Coast | 7,238,480 | +1483% | +1644% |
| 2 | Ecuador | 7,026,500 | -3.3% | +6.6% |
| 3 | Ghana | 3,480,326 | +2.4% | +3818% |
| 4 | Guatemala | 2,605,784 | -1.3% | +1% |
| 5 | Philippines | 2,428,194 | -34.8% | +46% |
| 6 | Costa Rica | 2,326,811 | -11.5% | -8% |
| 7 | Colombia | 2,249,888 | +3.4% | +12.3% |
| 8 | Belgium | 965,223 | +4.5% | -25.9% |
| 9 | Netherlands | 854,178 | +4.7% | +48.2% |
| 10 | Laos | 831,326 | +9.9% | +290.3% |
| 11 | Burkina Faso | 800,000 | +100% | 0% |
| 12 | United States | 611,349 | -1.2% | -0.5% |
| 13 | Panama | 465,727 | -33.5% | +11643075% |
| 14 | Dominican Republic | 372,989 | -3.3% | +10.2% |
| 15 | Cambodia | 355,990 | +28% | +2789% |
| 16 | India | 341,543 | +60.5% | +269.7% |
| 17 | Germany | 338,752 | +12.2% | -1.4% |
| 18 | Cameroon | 322,098 | +7.5% | +16.8% |
| 19 | Honduras | 318,616 | -41.3% | -50.9% |
| 20 | France | 223,155 | +22.4% | -11.2% |
| 21 | Nicaragua | 221,359 | +3.1% | +18.7% |
| 22 | Peru | 206,817 | -2.7% | +1.9% |
| 23 | Myanmar | 192,669 | -46.2% | -17.4% |
| 24 | Turkey | 168,339 | -16.5% | +1870333% |
| 25 | Mozambique | 152,985 | +12.1% | +50.1% |
| 26 | Spain | 120,398 | +24.7% | -12.2% |
| 27 | Bolivia | 114,337 | -1.4% | -20.1% |
| 28 | Brazil | 108,753 | +29% | +162.7% |
| 29 | Belize | 107,803 | +5.7% | +17.6% |
| 30 | Italy | 107,012 | +32.2% | +48.8% |
| 31 | Slovenia | 76,734 | -1.5% | +53.3% |
| 32 | Poland | 69,374 | -17.9% | +22.2% |
| 33 | Lebanon | 64,713 | +46.7% | +157.4% |
| 34 | Russia | 62,066 | -3.6% | +3.8% |
| 35 | Pakistan | 59,004 | -42.4% | +28.5% |
| 36 | Paraguay | 58,453 | +0.9% | +51.7% |
| 37 | Greece | 52,000 | -3.6% | +17% |
| 38 | Czech Republic | 44,527 | +2.1% | -30.2% |
| 39 | Portugal | 34,877 | +7.9% | +124.1% |
| 40 | Malaysia | 32,085 | +14.3% | +16.9% |
| 41 | Sweden | 23,214 | +4.7% | -26.6% |
| 42 | Latvia | 22,637 | +27% | +44% |
| 43 | Ethiopia | 22,494 | +10.3% | +95.9% |
| 44 | Romania | 20,524 | +92.9% | +11628% |
| 45 | China | 20,342 | +3% | +28.6% |
| 46 | South Africa | 19,759 | +18.1% | +14.3% |
| 47 | Slovakia | 19,704 | -5.4% | -15.2% |
| 48 | Sri Lanka | 19,353 | -2.9% | +26.5% |
| 49 | Eswatini | 19,234 | +11.1% | +90.9% |
| 50 | Thailand | 15,934 | +2% | -45.5% |
By weight, the fastest-growing major exporters of bananas from 2020 to 2021 are Ivory Coast (up 1,483%), Burkina Faso (up 100%), Romania (up 92.9%), India (up 60.5%), Lebanon (up 46.3%), Italy (up 32.2%), Brazil (up 29%) and Cambodia (up 28%).
Posting the greatest declines in tons of exported bananas from year to year were Myanmar (down -46.2%), Pakistan (down -42.4%), Honduras (down -41.3%), Philippines (down -34.8%) and Panama (down -33.5%).
Searchable List of Average Unit Price for Exported Bananas
The world’s average unit price for exported bananas was US$1,099 per ton in 2021, up 18.2% from an average $930 during 2020.
The automated table below enables you to compare the average unit price for exported bananas for 50 of the world’s biggest exporters of bananas by weight. Amounts shown are in US dollars.
You can change the presentation order by clicking the triangle icon at the top of any of the columns in the data table. The right-most columns highlight the change in unit price for each supplier’s globally exported bananas in 2021 compared to 2020 or 5 years earlier in 2017. (A value of 0% in those columns means data for that year was unavailable.)
| Bananas Exporter | Avg Price | 2020-1 | 2017-21 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ivory Coast | $55 | -84.3% | -85.4% |
| 2 | Ecuador | $498 | -1.8% | +8% |
| 3 | Ghana | $28 | -3.4% | -92% |
| 4 | Guatemala | $362 | +2.8% | +5.8% |
| 5 | Philippines | $464 | +7.4% | +12.3% |
| 6 | Costa Rica | $462 | +12.1% | +11.9% |
| 7 | Colombia | $452 | -0.7% | -1.3% |
| 8 | Belgium | $837 | +3.6% | +3.8% |
| 9 | Netherlands | $934 | +2.5% | +11.5% |
| 10 | Laos | $286 | -5% | -63.7% |
| 11 | United States | $770 | +6.2% | +6.2% |
| 12 | Panama | $317 | +46.1% | -68.3% |
| 13 | Dominican Republic | $614 | -3.8% | -26.4% |
| 14 | Cambodia | $473 | +16.5% | -9% |
| 15 | India | $422 | -11.3% | -21.1% |
| 16 | Germany | $820 | -0.7% | -11% |
| 17 | Cameroon | $886 | -4.8% | +288.6% |
| 18 | Honduras | $431 | +5.1% | +11.9% |
| 19 | France | $715 | -1.1% | +5% |
| 20 | Nicaragua | $249 | +1.2% | -21.9% |
| 21 | Peru | $702 | -0.3% | -4.6% |
| 22 | Myanmar | $852 | -16.9% | +184.9% |
| 23 | Turkey | $538 | +7.6% | -51.6% |
| 24 | Mozambique | $269 | +8.9% | -16.5% |
| 25 | Spain | $768 | -1.8% | -8% |
| 26 | Bolivia | $331 | +6.4% | +21.2% |
| 27 | Brazil | $341 | +10% | +21.4% |
| 28 | Belize | $427 | -0.7% | -4.5% |
| 29 | Italy | $800 | +8% | +6% |
| 30 | Slovenia | $807 | +9.2% | -2.2% |
| 31 | Poland | $869 | +3% | +2% |
| 32 | Lebanon | $583 | +16.8% | +16.1% |
| 33 | Russia | $734 | +18.8% | +4.7% |
| 34 | Pakistan | $232 | -0.9% | -37% |
| 35 | Paraguay | $329 | +22.3% | +53.7% |
| 36 | Greece | $804 | -2.9% | +4.6% |
| 37 | Czech Republic | $894 | +4.2% | +1.1% |
| 38 | Portugal | $804 | -0.4% | +15% |
| 39 | Malaysia | $312 | +1% | -9.6% |
| 40 | Sweden | $994 | +0.9% | -3.9% |
| 41 | Latvia | $845 | +3.8% | -0.1% |
| 42 | Ethiopia | $216 | +11.9% | +4.9% |
| 43 | Romania | $835 | 0% | +2.2% |
| 44 | China | $906 | +12.3% | -13.2% |
| 45 | South Africa | $681 | +5.3% | +4.3% |
| 46 | Slovakia | $932 | +0.5% | +0.2% |
| 47 | Sri Lanka | $783 | -0.5% | -33.7% |
| 48 | Eswatini | $285 | +11.8% | +95.2% |
| 49 | Thailand | $1,090 | +7% | +63.7% |
| 50 | Angola | $308 | +37.5% | -42.1% |
The average unit price specific to the 50 leading exporters of bananas was $587 per ton. That metric falls drastically below the world overall average price.
The lowest average unit price for exported bananas per ton belong to Ghana, Ivory Coast, Ethiopia, Pakistan and Nicaragua. Other low-cost bananas suppliers to global markets include Mozambique, Eswatini, Laos and Angola.
The fastest growers in average unit price from 2020 to 2021 are Panama (up 46.1%), Angola (up 37.5%), Paraguay (up 22.3%), Russia (up 18.8%), Lebanon (up 16.8%) and Cambodia (up 16.5%).
The greatest year-over-year reductions in average unit price collected for exported bananas by ton were posted by international suppliers in Ivory Coast (down -84.3% from 2020), Myanmar (down -16.9%), India (down -11.3%) then Laos (down -5%).
Average Unit Price for Top 10 Bananas Exporters by Sales
The list below is sorted in descending order by the 10 major exporters of bananas by dollar sales, showcasing each country’s corresponding average unit price per ton of globally exported bananas in US dollars. These key suppliers sold 72.8% of overall bananas exports by sales revenues in 2021 and are listed in descending rank, starting with the best-selling exporters of bananas.
- Ecuador: US$498 per ton (down -1.8% from 2020)
- Philippines: $464 (up 7.4%)
- Costa Rica: $462 (up 12.1%)
- Colombia: $452 (down -0.7%)
- Guatemala: $362 (up 3.6%)
- Belgium: $837 (up 5.7%)
- Netherlands: $934 (up 2.5%)
- United States: $770 (up 6.2%)
- Ivory Coast: $55 (down -84.3%)
- Cameroon: $886 (down -4.8%)
Four among the top 10 bananas suppliers by weight (Netherlands, Cameroon, Belgium, and the United States of America) charged comparatively higher average unit prices exceeding the average unit price of $587 per ton specific to the top 50 bananas exporters by value.
That data finding suggests that economies of scale for the world’s 10 biggest exporters of bananas do not necessarily apply. That is because for 4 top supplier countries, their average unit price is higher than the global benchmark price for the 50 leading bananas exporter countries including smaller shippers.
Major Bananas Importing Countries by Quantity
Turning our attention to countries that buy bananas on international markets, the top 10 bananas importers by weight bought two-thirds (63.2%) of globally imported bananas during 2021.
- Burkina Faso: 10.1 million tons (28.5% of global bananas imports)
- United States: 5 million tons (14.2%)
- China: 1.9 million tons (5.3%)
- Russia: 1.46 million tons (4.1%)
- Germany: 1.42 million tons (4%)
- Belgium: 1.14 million tons (3.2%)
- Netherlands: 1.13 million tons (3.2%)
- Japan: 1.11 million tons (3.1%)
- United Kingdom: 949,487 tons (2.7%)
- Italy: 818,824 tons (2.3%)
The strongest increases among the above banana importers measured by shipment weight were Burkina Faso (up 29.7% from 2020), Netherlands (up 8.8%) and mainland China (up 5.6%).
See also Bananas Exports by Country (dollar value), Bananas Imports by Country (dollar value), Average Frozen Beef Prices Compared by Top Exporters, Average Rice Prices Compared for Major Rice Export Countries and Average Coal Prices Compared for Major Coal Exporters by Country
Research Sources:
Alibaba, Supplier showroom for bananas. Accessed on December 5, 2022
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Field Listing: Exports – Commodities. Accessed on December 5, 2022
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on December 5, 2022
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on December 5, 2022
Wikipedia, Banana. Accessed on December 5, 2022