In 2017, the Southeast Asian country earned US$167.9 million from banana exports. The figure dipped to USD 112 million in 2018, but is expected to rise to $168 million in 2019, according to the Lao Ministry of Industry and Commerce.
The bulk of the crop will be sold to China and some to Thailand.
The commercialization policy on banana production benefits rural people. The most notable outcome of this policy has been the influx of investors to assist Lao banana growers in the country’s northern provinces of Bokeo, Luang Namtha, and Oudomxay which led to an increase in banana exports from USD 46.6 million in 2015 to over USD 197.8 million in 2016.
Other major agricultural exports of the country are expected to include cassava with sales reaching USD 129 million , raw coffee at USD 143 million , rubber at USD 105 million, maize at USD 34 million, and rice at USD 25 million.
Source: Saigon Online