During the second quarter of 2021 banana exports in the region were led by Costa Rica with $566 million, despite the 12% decrease in the value exported in the region.
Figures from the Trade Intelligence Unit of CentralAmericaData: [GRAFICA caption="Click to interact with the graphic"]
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. However, in 2019 and 2020 the amount paid for the fruit was reduced, and by 2021 a price of 11.33 euros has been set, which is equivalent to a -16% variation with respect to what was charged in 2018.
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.
Congress approved a decree obliging the Ministry of Agriculture to fumigate banana and plantain plantations.
Decree 7-2020 approved the Law for the Protection of Banana and Plantain Crops in the Republic of Guatemala, a law that, in addition to protecting banana crops, also promotes the economic development of the banana sector, Congress reported in a press release.
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"]
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"]
Guatemalan producers report that their profit margins have been reduced because the threat of the Fusarium R4T pest has forced them to increase their spending on phytosanitary measures and crop biosecurity.
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.
Costa Rica has updated the mandatory phytosanitary measures for imports, while in Guatemala protocols are being implemented in the fields where the fruit is harvested, because of the threat of Fusarium R4T disease.
Authorities of the South American country confirmed the presence of Fusarium R4T, in a limited area of 175 hectares in the department of Guajira.
Weeks ago, the International Regional Organization for Agricultural Health (OIRSA) reported that because of the suspicion of the fungus in Colombia, the Colombian Agricultural Institute (ICA) issued a resolution on June 25, which declares in phytosanitary quarantine the farm Don Marce, in the municipality of Riohacha in the department of La Guajira, for the presence of symptoms associated with the pest Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense Raza 4 Tropical.
Following Panama's decision, the phytosanitary authorities in Guatemala and Costa Rica restricted the entry of banana and plantain-derived materials from any country because of the alert for the pest known as "wilt for fusarium.”
In the case of Guatemala, the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Food (MAGA) reported that as part of the protection and preservation of the regional agricultural heritage, the Guatemalan population and national banana and plantain producers were informed that Guatemala had activated prevention and warning measures to prevent the threat of Fusarium Oxysporum race 4 disease.
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