Global Banana Exports Reach 21.7 Million Tonnes | The Philippines Regains Second Place in 2025

For breakfast, as a snack, in smoothies or on top of pancakes. Bananas are one of the world's most widely traded fruits. According to Banana Market Review 2025, published by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in September 2026, global banana trade grew significantly in 2025.

Global exports reach 21.7 million tonnes, up 10% from the previous year

According to FAO, global banana exports reached 21.7 million tonnes in 2025, up 10% year on year, recovering to a level not seen in the past 5 years.

Colombia and the Philippines led this growth, with these 2 countries alone accounting for around 1.1 million tonnes of the increase in exports.

In its earlier preliminary results, FAO had projected that exports in 2025 would rise by around 6% to approximately 20.8 million tonnes. As full-year data were compiled, the figures were revised upward, ultimately showing a strong recovery of 10%. These figures cover exports of dessert bananas, excluding cooking bananas, or plantains.

Leading banana-exporting countries in 2025 (FAO)
1st Ecuador: 6.5 million tonnes (around 30% of the global total)
2nd Philippines: approximately 3 million tonnes (up around 30% year on year)
3rd Colombia: 2.6 million tonnes
Guatemala: 2.3 million tonnes
Costa Rica: 2.2 million tonnes
Global total: 21.7 million tonnes (up 10% year on year)

Why the Philippines returned to 2nd place

In 2025, the Philippines sharply increased its exports from approximately 2.33 million tonnes the previous year to around 3 million tonnes, regaining its position as the world's 2nd-largest exporter for the first time since 2022. FAO attributes this to favorable weather and a recovery from disease-related declines in recent years.

The disease referred to here is Panama disease tropical race 4 (Fusarium wilt TR4), which enters banana plants through their roots and causes them to die. FAO has long highlighted this disease as a major risk to the global banana industry. Once it has spread through a field, replanting the same variety becomes difficult, so producers are working to switch to disease-resistant varieties and improve field hygiene.

The Philippines is a banana-producing country with close ties to Japan, and many of the bananas found in Japanese supermarkets come from there. Its return to 2nd place is news that also feels close to home for people in Japan.

Ecuador accounts for 30% of the global total, while results vary across Latin America

Top-ranked Ecuador exported 6.5 million tonnes, accounting for around 30% of the global total. FAO's preliminary analysis indicated that production regions in Central America struggled to grow, while those in South America and Asia recorded strong growth, making it a year of clear regional differences.

Bananas grow in a limited range of regions near the equator, and many countries rely on imports. Bananas destined for export are harvested while still green, transported on temperature-controlled ships, and ripened in the destination country before reaching store shelves. Weather and disease in growing regions, along with the cost of sea freight, directly affect retail banana prices around the world.

Behind an everyday banana

Affordable and available all year round, bananas are a familiar staple on Japanese tables. Yet the price of each one reflects the weather and disease affecting fields thousands of kilometers away, as well as the conditions of shipping across the sea. The 10% rise in exports recorded in 2025 also shows that this long journey had been put back on track.

For developments in the world of fruit, Pumpkin imports and Olive oil around the world as well.

References: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Banana Market Review 2025 (September 2026); FAO, Banana Market Review: Preliminary results 2025

—The Value Village Editorial Team