The Philippines is on track to surpass the 3.4 million tons of Cavendish bananas it exported last year based on preliminary trade data in the January-to-July period from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA). Data from the PSA showed that the country’s banana shipments in seven months reached 2.5 tons, 50 percent higher than last year’s 1.661 tons.
This means that the Philippines is shipping over 350,000 MT of Cavendish bananas monthly, compared to 237,285 tons recorded in the same seven-month period last year. If this is sustained, total shipments this year could reach a record high of 4.25 tons.
Historical PSA data indicated that the biggest export volume was recorded in 2014, when shipments reached 3.631 tons. The expansion in harvest area and significant investments in the sector allowed the Philippines to expand output and regain its position as the world’s second-largest exporter of bananas last year, according to the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
