Nicaraguan banana exports double in recent years

July 16, 2014

Published by Fresh Plaza

Bananas, whether green or ripe, form part of the diet of Central America. It is eaten in slices, fried, baked and roasted. It is also used to prepare some desserts and it is very appreciated by the snacks industry. Its strong demand, both in the domestic market and overseas, has significantly accelerated its production.

Last year, the reduction in Costa Rican demand slowed down the growth that Nicaraguan banana exporters had enjoyed in recent years, from 3.79 million dollars in 2007 to 8.21 million in 2012, according to statistics from the Centre for Export Transactions (CETREX).

Since October 2013, Costa Rica's agricultural authorities blocked the access of some banana containers arguing that they contained small amounts of illegal pesticides, explained the exporter Arnoldo Alemán Pérez, representative of the company Productos D'La Granja, from Buenos Aires.

But it appears that the opening of new markets and the consolidating of others will make it possible to surpass the 7.07 million exported last year, as by the end of June, the value of the product's exports amounted to 4.77 million dollars, representing a 57.9% growth over the 3.02 million shipped overseas during the first half of 2013.

No official figures
There are no official figures for the annual production, but according to the results of the Fourth National Agricultural Census (CENAGRO) 2011, some 53,990 hectares are devoted to the cultivation of bananas and plantains. According to estimates of the Union of Agricultural Producers of Nicaragua (UPANIC), the annual production oscillates between 800,000 and 1 million kilos.

This growth recorded during the first six months of the year can be perceived in Nicaragua's production.

Variable yields
The average yield is estimated at 60,000 bananas per manzana (1 manzana = 0.70 hectares). Each manzana contains about 2,000 plants. In the international market, the product reaches an average price of 0.25 dollars per kilo. In the domestic market, it oscillates between 2 and 3 Cordobas per unit.

However, the 21 producers of the company Exportadores y Productores del Sur (Exprosur), who devote around 2,500 manzanas to the crop's cultivation, obtained yields of up to 100,000 units per manzana.

Michael Healy, president of the Union of Agricultural Producers of Nicaragua (UPANIC) and representative of Exprosur, said that market opportunities have fostered the growth of both local production and exports.

Although producers continue considering the Costa Rican market as one of the most important for local bananas, CETREX's figures reveal that in 2013, 45% of the purchases were made by ​​Honduras, followed by the U.S. with 42% and El Salvador, with 10%. Meanwhile, the southern neighbour bought only 2% of the volume exported, a percentage that represents $ 135,662. Guatemala and Canada accounted for the remaining 1% of the purchases.

Healy affirms that one of his goals in the medium term is to ship the product to the Caribbean islands, to become established in the Mexican market and to consolidate in Canada. The European market is discarded due to the high logistics costs and the product's shelf life.

Currently most companies export only fresh bananas (peeled or unpeeled), but Ramirez says that one of their medium-term objectives is to sell also processed products.