Slight growth in US banana imports
Guatemala remains top US banana source
US banana imports inched up just under 1% last year to nearly 4.9 million tons, with Guatemala remaining the top supplier.
Figures from USDA Foreign Agricultural Service’s Global Agricultural Trade System (GATS) also show that compared to 2013, the biggest growth was in imports from Peru, Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic, while the totals from Panama, Colombia and Honduras fell.
|
2012 tons |
2013 tons |
2014 tons |
% 14-13 |
|
|
Guatemala |
1,517,328 |
1,680,028 |
1,756,187 |
4.5% |
|
Ecuador |
851,567 |
889,711 |
905,021 |
1.7% |
|
Costa Rica |
850,21 |
798,698 |
828,526 |
3.7% |
|
Honduras |
536,257 |
603,309 |
572,971 |
-5% |
|
Colombia |
507,573 |
535,527 |
444,334 |
-17% |
|
Mexico |
238,376 |
272,548 |
273,493 |
0.3% |
|
Nicaragua |
43,857 |
41,372 |
58,929 |
42.4% |
|
Peru |
25,900 |
22,624 |
40,216 |
77.8% |
|
Panama |
65,553 |
13,240 |
10,065 |
-24% |
|
DomRep |
2,727 |
6,197 |
7,515 |
21.3% |
|
El Salvador |
96 |
487 |
1,930 |
|
|
TOTAL |
4,639,444 |
4,863,741 |
4,899,187 |
0.70% |
source: http://apps.fas.usda.gov/gats/ExpressQuery1.aspx
Guatemala, which has a competitive edge thanks to its proximity to the US, was the source of nearly 36% of total US banana imports, followed by Ecuador with 18.5% and Costa Rica with 16.9%.
US imports of agricultural products from Guatemala totaled US$1.8 billion in 2013 with leading categories including bananas and plantains ($729 million), coffee (unroasted) ($411 million), fresh fruit (excluding bananas) ($182 million), and processed fruit and vegetables ($108 million).
US banana production is very limited, with Hawaii by far its largest banana producer.