Vietnam is now China's top banana supplier, surpassing the long-time country's first major trade partner, the Philippines.According to China's customs department, banana imports from Vietnam have increased by 19.6%, reaching 40.7% market share in the first eight months of the year. Imports from the Philippines, in comparison, have decreased by 39.2%.
The Philippines' banana industry has battled against adverse weather and diseases this year, such as Fusarium Wilt, widely known as Panama disease, a resistant crop disease that attacks bananas, especially the Cavendish variety, and has affected the country's output.The decline became an opportunity for Vietnam to fill China's demand for the fruit.Vietnamese banana exports have also surged due to high demand from China. In a seminar earlier this year, the General Director of AEON, one of Japan's largest food retailers, said, "100% of fresh bananas on sale are imported from Vietnam, while previously, this product was provided by suppliers in the Philippines, Taiwan, or Singapore."The Director also added last year that AEON will purchase fresh mangoes 100% from Vietnam instead of Thailand and the Philippines. Exporters have also said Vietnamese bananas have "reliable quality and quantity and competitive prices, with the country’s proximity to China helping reduce logistics costs."
