According to customs data, China imported 213,400 tons of bananas (213,361,071 kilograms) in May 2022, with an import value of US$142,841,956. The import volume decreased by 3.93% from April and 15.85% from May 2021; the cumulative import volume from January to May 2022 was 956,200 tons (95,6210,198 kg), an increase of 11.58% from the same period in 2021. High-quality domestic bananas are in short supply, and imported bananas are needed to fill the gap. After entering May, trade at various ports gradually returned to normal, and the speed of banana transportation vehicles accelerated.
The average import price of bananas in May 2022 was about US$669.48/ton, an increase of 4.95% month-on-month and a year-on-year increase of 19.83%. Affected by COVID-19, foreign banana exports to China have encountered challenges. Taking Cambodia as an example, the transportation cost of fresh fruits has increased by more than three times compared with the previous normal level. Bananas and mangoes are the most affected, and factors such as rising oil prices have further boosted their export costs.
In May 2022, China's largest source of imports is still Vietnam, accounting for 36%, and the second is the Philippines, accounting for the same 36%, but its import volume is slightly smaller than Vietnam. April-May is the new peak season for Vietnamese banana production. Although the import volume in May decreased compared with the previous month, the export of Vietnamese bananas to China is still showing a positive trend based on the situation in recent months.
Coupled with its geographical advantage, it is less affected by factors such as rising freight costs, and the domestic banana planting area in China is decreasing year by year. It is expected that China will continue to increase the import of Vietnamese bananas. Cambodia can still maintain the top three importing countries of Chinese bananas, but due to the lack of refrigeration facilities for its agricultural products, and the strengthening of China’s quarantine policy, the supply of domestic production areas has gradually loosened, and the export situation of Cambodian bananas to China is not optimistic for the near future.
Source: mysteel.com