Banana imports to the U.S. and European Union increased year-on-year in the first few months of 2018, with many important Latin American suppliers shipping greater volumes.
U.S. imports through September rose by 9 pecent from the previous year to 3.2 million metric tons (MT), while to the EU through August rose by 4 percent to 4 million MT, according to USDA and Eurostat data.
The U.S.’s main supplier of the period, Guatemala, increased its shipments to the North American country by 6 percent to 1.4 million MT, while the second-biggest supplier, Costa Rica, saw a 4 percent hike to 649,000MT.
There were significant increases from some smaller suppliers such as Mexico (+22 percent, 241,000MT) and Ecuador (39 percent, 353,000MT). Honduras, the number-three supplier, shipped 4 percent fewer with 360,000MT.
As for Europe, the region’s main supplier, Ecuador, boosted shipments by 12 percent to 1.7 million MT, while Costa Rica, the number-three supplier, increased shipments by 8 percent to 837,000MT.
Meanwhile, there were decreases for Colombia (-2 percent, 902,000MT), the Dominican Republic (-4 percent, 198,000MT), and the Ivory Coast (-1 percent, 197,000MT).