Vietnam overtakes the Philippines as top banana exporter to China

In the first four months of the year, Vietnam surpassed the Philippines to become the leading country exporting bananas to China, with a volume of nearly 355,000 tons, an increase of more than 22% over the same period in 2023. The data has just been announced by the General Administration of Customs of China. In the first 4 months of the year, Vietnam’s banana export output was 2.4 times higher than that of the Philippines. This is the first time Vietnamese bananas exported to China surpass the Philippines – the country ranked second in banana growing area in the world, after Ecuador.

With an export output of 355,000 tons, Vietnam accounts for 48.6% of the total banana output imported into China. However, banana export prices of 10 countries to China simultaneously dropped sharply by 2-39%. Vietnamese goods alone decreased by 16% over the same period last year, down to 407.7 USD per ton. This is also the reason why Vietnam’s banana export value in 4 months only reached 145 million USD, up 3% over the same period in 2023, while output increased by 22%.

A banana export business leader in Dong Nai mentioned that the price decreased because China diversified its supply sources. In addition to importing from Vietnam and the Philippines, this country also imports from many different markets. Vietnamese bananas are dominating because they have more advantages than every year. Meanwhile, the quality of Philippine bananas has decreased due to leaf rot disease and increased logistics costs.

In the Chinese market, Vietnam competes well with countries in Southeast Asia such as Cambodia, Laos, and Thailand. Particularly, the skyrocketing price of bananas from Thailand has made China lose interest in goods imported from this country. Ecuador is also penetrating the Chinese market with large output, but faces challenges due to increasing logistics costs.

Apart from China, Vietnamese bananas are also exported strongly to Malaysia, Singapore, Korea, Japan, and Qatar with the quantity increasing rapidly each year. The export value of fruits and vegetables is estimated to reach nearly 2.6 billion USD, an increase of more than 28% over the same period in 2023. Bananas are the third largest exporter in the fruit and vegetable group after durian and dragon fruit. Vietnam signed a protocol to export bananas to China in 2022, which has helped transform the industry and create more prestige in the market.