India currently has the largest market in terms of volume sales. In 2006, 17 million tonnes of bananas were sold in India, an impressive 30 per cent of the total world sales of 57million tonnes. Other large markets across the globe include Brazil and China.
Brazil also tops the table for the country with the highest per capita consumption of bananas, at more than 28 kg in 2006, according to Euromonitor International, primarily due to the abundant availability and low price of the fruit. Interestingly, Ukraine has witnessed the highest growth in banana consumption from 1998 to 2006, from 0.4 kg to 1.4 kg, an increase of 241 per cent. The availability of bananas has increased dramatically in Ukraine as the market has opened up over the past ten years, aided particularly by a recent trade agreement with Ecuador, who supply 80 per cent of the Ukraine’s bananas.

Over the next five years Euromonitor International predicts that the growth of the market will continue, with global volume sales increasing by a further four per cent. The growth of the market in eastern Europe, however, is expected to slow down rapidly, overtaken by growth in western Europe at 10.7 per cent, as western Europeans continue to increase their fruit intake in light of the trend for healthy eating and concerns over obesity.

Bananas



Source: Euromonitor International offers quality international market intelligence on industries, countries and consumers