India Gets Market Access for Exporting Bananas to Canada

05 May 2022

India is all set to export bananas to Canada after receiving approval from the Canadian government. Besides bananas, India will also supply baby corn to Canada. For India, the approval will immediately benefit Indian farmers of these crops and also boost Indian export earnings. For Canada, the approval means having broader access to both fresh crops. The access, however, comes at a time when prices of bananas in the Canadian market are low, following a global market trend.

India’s Banana Exports to the World by Quarter

Although India is not only one of the top banana exporters, it is also one of the world’s leading producers, with a share of around 25% of the global output. Exporting bananas in the Canadian market is a strategy to increase exports both in volume and value. India exported US$131.3 million worth of bananas to the world in 2021. And in Q1 of 2022, shipments of bananas worth US$53.5 million departed from India. Visualize quarter-wise values of India’s banana exports.

India’s Banana Export Development

As the production of bananas has declined in major exporting regions of Latin America and Southeast Asia due to the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic, the demand for Indian bananas has substantially increased. In fact, India’s banana export volume has almost doubled in the past three years. For 2020/21, the banana export value rose by 33% YoY, reaching a record high value of US$103.3 million, while the export quantity saw 18% YoY for another record high volume of 212.8K million tonnes.

India’s banana export has been increasing sharply because of the adoption of farm practices per global standards. As a result, Indian bananas have increased in price value over the last years. According to the reports, the average export price for Indian bananas has increased from US$ 0.20/kg in 2016 to US$ 0.50/kg in 2021.

In 2022, when India started exporting bananas to Canada, the price of bananas from India recorded a substantial increase YoY. According to the reports, the wholesale price of bananas in India increased by 55.92% YoY in March 2022, when the price stood at US$ 0.59/kg. Unseasonal rain disrupted the production and led to low supply. As a result, Indian banana prices surged in March 2022, remaining over US$ 0.60/kg all through April 2022.

Canada’s Banana Imports from the World 2021

Canadian imports of fresh bananas have moderately increased over the past years, attesting to steady demand from the market. In 2021, Canada imported bananas worth US$458 million. Fresh bananas import into Canada is dominated by Guatemala, which accounted for 42.3% of the import share, followed by Costa Rica with 18% and Colombia and Ecuador with 13% each. Analyze Canada’s banana imports from the world in 2021 through data visualization.

India’s Banana Exports by Destination Country 2021

Indian bananas have started finding a place mainly in Middle Eastern markets, with Iran as its primary buyer taking 31.8% of the export share in 2021, followed by the United Arab Emirates with 20.2%.

India’s exports will now increase after Canada approved to import Indian bananas. Banana exporters in India will see a growth in their business from receiving fresh orders from Canada.