In 2020, the main exporter of fresh or dried bananas in Central America was Costa Rica, with $1,083 million, followed by Guatemala, with $930 million, Honduras, with $531 million, Panama with $152 million and Nicaragua with $23 million.
Figures from the Trade Intelligence Unit of CentralAmericaData: [GRAFICA caption="Click to interact with the graphic"]
Between January and September 2020, banana exports amounted to $2,079 million, 11% more than what was reported in the same period of 2019, a rise that is explained by the behavior of sales of Honduran, Panamanian, Costa Rican and Guatemalan companies.
Figures from the Trade Intelligence Unit of CentralAmericaData: [GRAFICA caption="Click to interact with the graphic"]
From January to June 2020, banana exports amounted to 1,403 million, 14% more than what was reported for the same period in 2019, a rise that can be explained by the sales behavior of Honduran, Costa Rican, Panamanian and Guatemalan companies.
Figures from the Trade Intelligence Unit of CentralAmericaData: [GRAFICA caption="Click to interact with the graphic"]
Since 2018, the price of the banana box that Costa Rican producers sell to the German supermarket chain ALDI is falling, there is concern that other European chains will begin to negotiate lower prices.
Representatives of the National Banana Corporation of Costa Rica (Corbana) explained that in 2018 the 18.14 kilo banana box sold to ALDI was quoted at 13.55 Euros.
Due to the possible change in the regulations established by the European Union on the use of agrochemicals in the production of the fruit that enters their territory, exporters in the region are on the alert for the possible complications that this would generate in the commercialization.
In order to protect the health of consumers, European authorities could vary the maximum residue limits (MRL's) that food entering the region may contain.
Although several companies have been affected by the measures implemented by governments in the context of the Covid-19 crisis, Costa Rican exports of coffee, pineapple and bananas have so far not faced difficulties with logistics.
Directors of the Coffee Institute of Costa Rica (Icafé) indicated that so far there have been no problems with the availability of containers and that sales abroad are proceeding normally.
In the first nine months of 2019, Central American companies recorded $1.87 billion in banana exports, and sales to Italy grew 9% over the same period in 2018.
Figures from the Trade Intelligence Unit at CentralAmericaData: [GRAFICA caption="Click to interact with graphics"]
The government decreed that starting January 1, 2020, banana exporters in Costa Rica will pay local producers a minimum price of $8.36 per 18.14 kilo box.
The authorized increase will be $0.67 per box of 18.14 kilos, from $7.69 to $8.36 for each package sold abroad, reported the Ministry of Economy, Industry and Commerce (MEIC).
In the first six months of 2019, Central American companies recorded $590 million in banana exports, and sales to the Netherlands grew 36% over the same period in 2018.
Figures from the Trade Intelligence Unit at CentralAmericaData: [GRAFICA caption="Click to interact with graphic"]
In the first three months of 2019, Central American countries recorded $590 million in banana sales abroad, 6% less than reported in the same period of 2018.
Figures from the Trade Intelligence Unit at CentralAmericaData: [GRAPHIC caption="Click to interact with graphic"]
If the international prices of bananas, coffee, sugar and palm oil do not improve, and if combined with a global economic recession, Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador could stop exporting as much as $2.268 million altogether in 2021.
According to the report "Proceso de integración Centroamericana del Triángulo Norte: Escenarios de riesgo en la matriz de exportación" (Central American Integration Process of the Northern Triangle: Risk Scenarios in the Export Matrix), prepared by the Asociación de Investigación de Estudios Sociales (Asíes), garment making is another activity that could be affected in the coming years.
Last year, the main regional crop sold abroad was coffee, with $2.671 million, followed by banana, with $2.594 million, pineapple, with $1.097 million and sugar, with $722 million.
Data from the Trade Intelligence Unit at CentralamericaData:
The main coffee export destinations were the U.S., Germany, Belgium, Italy, Japan and Canada, which together represent 70% of the volume exported by the region, equivalent to approximately $2,050 million. [GRAFICA caption="Click to interact with the graphic"]
Climatic and market conditions would be the reasons behind the drop in foreign sales expected for this year by exporters of bananas and pineapples in Costa Rica.
The drought in the Caribbean region, together with the attack of a bacterium on the plantations, will cause a year-on-year drop of at least 15% in banana production in 2019, according to business leaders.
In the first nine months of 2018, Central American countries recorded $1.928 million in banana sales abroad, and exports to the Netherlands increased 5% over the same period in 2017.
Figures from the Trade Intelligence Unit at CentralAmericaData: [GRAFICA caption="Click to interact with graphic"]
From January to September of this year, foreign sales totaled $531 million, resulting in a 5% increase over the same period in 2017, mainly explained by banana and sugar sales.
The most recent figures of the General Comptroller of the Republic detail that between the first nine months of 2017 and the same period of 2018 exports rose from $506 million to $531 million, an increase partly explained by the behavior of banana and sugar sales.
Operating Company dedicated to the manufacture of gluten-free and sugar-free products, OHNE brand. The OHNE brand has 8 product lines: square bread, sweet...