• RECORD Mexico is exporting record volumes of bananas to the US with more than 418 thousand metric tonnes exported during 2018 for a record value of USD 197 million, according to US Government data; experts cite a more competitive price compared to other exporters like Colombia.
• COMPETITOR Not since the beginning of NAFTA in 1994, Mexico has exported such large banana volumes to the US; still, Mexico still lags number 4 behind other countries in the share of banana imports to the US (Guatemala dominates US banana imports with 40% of share)
• RECOVERY Back in the year 2004, banana imports to the US from Mexico tanked below the 25 thousand metric tonnes line but since then Mexican banana exports have steadily risen particularly since 2016; the rising demand in the US of organic bananas may be one part of the story behind.
• LEADER Despite being country number 10 in banana exports, Mexico became during the past decade one of the fruit-exporting powerhouses in the world just behind the US, Spain and the Netherlands with more than USD 6.3 billion in exported value in 2018 per UN & WTO data.
