PHOTO: Workers wash and prepare bananas for Dole Food Co. According to the USDA, from August 2019 to July, Guatemala was the largest supplier of bananas to the U.S., at 2.14 million metric tons. SOURCE: Dole

SOURCE: Tom Karst, The Packer

Bananas remain America’s favorite fruit, but growth is slow at the top.

U.S. banana imports from August 2019 to July were 5.12 million metric tons, up less than 1% compared with the previous year.

By value, the U.S. Department of Agriculture reports banana imports totaled $2.46 billion in 2019-20, up 1.2% compared with 2018-19.

The USDA per capita availability consumption of bananas rated 28.3 pounds in 2018, down slightly from 28.7 pounds in 2017 and up slightly from 28 pounds in 2015, up 10.5% from 25.6 pounds in 2010 and virtually unchanged from 28.4 pounds in 2000.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *