The Philippines remained as the world’s second-largest exporter of bananas for the fourth consecutive year in 2021 despite stiff competition from Latin American producers, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). The country is still one of the world’s top suppliers of bananas, despite a 33.58-percent decline in its banana shipments last year.
The FAO preliminary report titled “International Trade Banana” showed that the Philippine banana exports last year reached 2.529 million metric tons (MMT) lower than the 3.808 MMT it shipped in 2020.
FAO said the decline in the country’s banana shipments was due to “severe production difficulties.” Because of these problems, the FAO report noted that key Asian markets slashed their purchases of bananas from the Philippines.
