The Philippines’s exports of its prized bananas last year plunged by 31 percent to a five-year low of $1.123 billion as the industry was plagued with a logistical problems and stiffer competition, resulting in lower volume of shipments.
The double-digit decline of banana exports last year marked the second consecutive year of sagging performance by one of the country’s top agricultural products, historical Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) data showed.
PSA data obtained by the BusinessMirror showed the country’s full-year banana exports last year was $521.012 million lower than the $1.644 billion recorded in 2020.
The value of total banana shipments last year was lowest since the $1.128 billion recorded in 2017, PSA data also showed.
The total volume of bananas exported by the Philippines last year reached 2.419 million metric tons (MMT), which was 36.46 percent lower than the 3.808 MMT recorded volume in 2020. Likewise, historical PSA indicated the volume of banana shipments last year was the lowest in the past five years.
Top market: Japan
JAPAN was the country’s top importer of bananas last year, accounting for 38.14 percent of the total volume of exports last year, per PSA data.
The Philippines exported 923,060.755 MT of bananas to Japan last year—34.75 percent lower compared to the 1.414 MMT recorded in 2020.
In terms of value, banana exports to Japan fell by 31.92 percent year-on-year to $486.422 million from $714.517 million.
China was the second biggest buyer of bananas from the Philippines as it imported 907,440.895 MT of the fruit worth $387.427 million, according to PSA data. The volume of banana exports to China declined by 25 percent year-on-year while the value of total shipments plunged by 21.57 percent on an annual basis.
The country’s banana exports to South Korea, the third biggest market of the fruit, declined by 37.99 percent to 270,247.299 MT from 435,827.485 MT in 2020. Value-wise, exports fell by almost 30 percent to $139.281 million from $198.622 million, based on PSA data.
In November last year, local banana exporters urged the government to initiate talks with Japanese retailers as they want to raise prices to offset rising costs.
In a letter to Philippine Agricultural Attaché to Japan Jose I. C. Laquian, the Pilipino Banana Growers and Exporters Association (PBGEA) sought the government’s support in seeking higher prices for Philippine bananas.
The move, the PBGEA said, would help the local banana industry cope with the many challenges it faces today, including disease outbreaks and rising production costs.
Zero duty in Korea
IN October last year, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) announced that local bananas will enter South Korea at zero duty following the conclusion of the negotiations for the Philippine-Korea Free Trade Agreement.
Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez told reporters that South Korea will allow the duty-free entry of Philippine bananas in five years.
In a recent statement, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said it will do its best to “maintain” the country’s position as a major exporter of banana by containing the Panama disease.
“We enjoy a comparative advantage in banana and pineapple, and for this reason, we at the DA invest in the development of the high-value crops subsector through our High Value Crops Development Program. Undoubtedly, high-value crops can provide farmers and their families, entrepreneurs and other players in the agriculture value chain sustainable income,” Agriculture Secretary William D. Dar said.
Last year, PBGEA revealed that the Philippines is losing market share in key banana markets to Latin American producers as well as prospective investments. These, the group pointed out, threaten the domestic banana output, which is considered the second biggest in the world.
The BusinessMirror broke the story last year that the Philippines is losing market share for the prized yellow fruit in key Asian markets to neighboring countries like Vietnam and Cambodia, as well as Latin American producers.
Trade map data of the multilateral International Trade Centre analyzed by the BusinessMirror showed that the Philippines’s market share for bananas in China, Japan, and South Korea has been shrinking in recent years, as domestic exporters have warned. (Related story: https://businessmirror.com.ph/2021/05/04/ phl-bananas-losing-out-in-asia-to-latin-america-asean-producers/).