The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations has released a report called Banana Market Review - Preliminary results 2022. In it, it states that global export quantities of bananas continued to display a strong tendency to decline during the first half of 2022, in stark contrast to the fast-paced growth experienced in pre-pandemic years.
Preliminary full-year estimates indicate that – first semester conditions persisting – global export quantities would fall by some 1.2 million tonnes from their 2021 level, to approximately 19.6 million tonnes in 2022.
It also claims that, amid a difficult global operating environment, obstacles to global banana trade have seemingly been mainly present on the supply side, with demand in importing countries remaining relatively strong.
Key factors affecting trade prospects in 2022 have been reported as:
- Production shortages caused by adverse weather conditions and insufficient fertilizer application.
- Substantially higher costs for inputs as well as high global transportation costs during the first half of the year.
- The significant appreciation of the United States dollar against the currencies of many banana-exporting and importing countries.
- Concerns surrounding the spread of plant diseases, importantly Banana Fusarium Wilt Tropical Race 4.
- More stringent limitations on maximum residue levels in some of the major markets
These difficulties have been affecting the ability of producers and exporters to supply bananas in adequate quantities and to the quality standards expected in export markets in all key regions. In the majority of the leading import markets, and notably in the European Union and the United States of America, prices at all levels have accordingly been displaying a tendency to increase.
However, industry sources reported that producer prices have been remaining stagnant at very low levels, a situation caused by intense competition between banana suppliers, quality concerns experienced in many origins in 2022 as well as by the saturation in global markets during the early months of the Ukraine war. This has been exerting mounting pressure on producer margins and thereby severely limiting the present and future operability and sustainability of the banana industry.
Click here to read the full report.
Source: fao.org