Banana Production in India and Ecuador

This article discusses the economic importance and commodity chain of banana production in India and Ecuador. It explores the top producers, types of bananas, and export destinations. India is the largest producer of bananas, while Ecuador has a rich history of banana production. Both countries have gained economic benefits from this sector.

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Mohamed Eldessouky
Human Geography
Mr, Liam Kennedy
March 8th 2019
Human Geography Term Paper
Banana is a fruit enjoyed by many of us on a daily basis, whether it's for breakfast, lunch, or just
a snack. It has great versatility and such a complimentary flavor, due to that it is used as a
plethora of different dishes and cuisines, from curry to ice cream. Bananas are a nutritious and
thus, a valuable part of a healthy diet. They are also known for having high amounts of vitamins
and minerals. In today’s world bananas are produced in more than 105 countries (Landge, and
Ingle). In addition, bananas are ranked 4th in the sphere’s food crops in financial value. In 2017,
Canada produced and exported bananas worth of $421.7 million. Bananas have their economic
importance for the countries that produce and import it and bananas have their wonderful health
benefits.
Commodity of Bananas (India)
The moving areas and the collaboration of different parties is what makes the international
commodity chain of bananas a very complicated process. To get bananas in the market, it goes
through many different processes such as growing, harvesting, packaging, transportation and
finally sell to consumers. The biggest producers of bananas are India and Ecuador. India is the
top banana producer because fruits can grow in this country throughout the year and due to the

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high population in India. It is estimated that India produces around 27 575 000 tons of bananas
every year. There are many major cities of India known for producing bananas. Those cities are:
Kerala, Assam, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka. There are
also many different types of bananas produced in India such as Robusta, Poovan, Nendran, and
Dwarf Cavendish. With all those types of bananas produced, India’s annual trade is about $1.2
billion. Banana production in India accounts for 13% of the total global production. India exports
them mainly to the United States, Japan and many countries in Europe. India shipped nearly 62,
799 kg of banana fruit valued at nearly $27000 to Qatar in the between 2012 to 2013 and nearly
3, 740 kg which valued nearly 17.55 lakhs in the same year (Landge, and Ingle). In 2017 the
exports have been increased in UAE which recorded nearly 31.58% (worth of $ 15381297 USD)
share in economic value. On the other hand, Oman recorded nearly 19.68% (worth of $ 9586085
USD) share in the value of banana imports. The export of banana fruits has become a reason for
economic growth in India. However, different studies show that India is the largest producer of
bananas but still not the top exports. According to a report published in The Hindu business line
(2015) India produces nearly thirty percent of the world's banana, but exporting is actually
negligible at less than one percent global banana production. The chain of commodity of banana
to middle east includes planting by the farmers, exporting bananas by the merchants, submitting
to packing station, washing and assurance of quality of bananas, packing banana and transporting
them to the terminals, customer clearance, loading to the ships, then the bananas are shipped to
the middle east market and finally put for sale at wholesale market.
In Ecuador

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Production of bananas began in Ecuador in 1910. In 1950s Ecuador became one of the biggest
banana producer in the world. As of 1960, the bananas transferred from Ecuador accounted for
25% of the total world's production ((Landge, and Ingle). . In early 1974, Ecuador became an
associate of the Union of Banana Transferring Countries in an effort to negotiate better values.
Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama are alongside Ecuador in
the Union of Banana Transferring Countries. (Brisbois, Ben Wesley, Leila Harris, and Jerry
Spiegel).The huge increase of banana transfers is accounted for nearly 21% of entire trades and
64% of agricultural transfers throughout the period of the 1990s in Ecuador. Transfers from
Ecuador achieved a record capacity of 6.4 million tonnes this year. In between 1944 to 1948
when the export of banana related boom started, the field of banana production has continuously
augmented in its size in Ecuador. Hacienda Tenguel and Caao are considered to be the original
sites of banana production in Ecuador in 1930 and continue to operate today.. In late 2009,
bananas represented nearly 60% of Ecuador’s agriculture and have continuously been Ecuador's
main export after petroleum. In 2017, banana exports have been declined, Ecuadorian business
with the United States of America dropped by 31 percent in 2017 due to the drop in the financial
ties between the two nations, which is around 584 000 tonnes. Ecuador’s banana region is vital
for the national economy, occupation and the national trade balance. Funds in the production
region have started projected worth $4 billion between area implanted, infrastructure, and storing
facilities. In total, nearly US$ 800 million dollars have been spent in associated businesses which
include; cardboard boxing, plastics, provisions, aerial disinfection, research facilities, national
shipping. Ecuador’s economy is meaningfully dependent on bananas production and export.
Ecuador has succeeded in exporting maximum of its bananas to different countries. Transfers

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from Ecuador to the European Unionare focused primarily in the banana production sector,
which represented 63.4 % in 2015 (Ministry of international trade).
In conclusion, there are many countries now exporting banana in the international market. India
and Ecuador are the topmost producers of these specific fruits. Today India is the largest
producer with the 27,575, 000 tones banana production and benefiting the economy positively.
Although some researchers also criticize that the export is very less compared to production. On
the other hand, Ecuador has a great history of banana production and was the top producer of
banana from 1910 to 1950, although, the export of banana was reduced in 2017. It can be
concluded that both countries have done tremendous work in banana production and gaining
good economic benefits from this sector across this two countries.
Mohamed: you provide an interesting list of facts related to the economics of banana production
in India and Ecuador, but they do not result in an argument about the different ways bananas
need to be understood as cultural and political objects imbued with a variety of meanings across
their supply chain. While you have conducted some detailed work towards a discussion of
banana production in two sites, the “Commodity Chain” essay topic requires that you discuss
two locations along the same path in a global food chain. Since it is unlikely that the bananas
from Ecuador and India ever cross paths, it may be advisable for your final essay to choose a site
where bananas are produced, and another where they are consumed. This framing will likely
show some starker contrasts in the politics and cultures surrounding the banana at these two
locations.
A while ago, journalists working for the podcast Planet Money conducted a commodity chain
analysis of t-shirts. Their analysis highlighted the radically uneven distribution of profits across

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the commodity chain, and offered some interesting explanations for why American cotton is
exported across the world for processing and back to the USA for marketing. You can listen to
the episodes in sequence here: https://www.npr.org/series/248799434/planet-moneys-t-shirt-
project
Or, you can explore their interactive website here: https://apps.npr.org/tshirt/#/title
Banana production in Philippines
Philippines is among the top five banana exporters with a total of 1.4 tonnes exported in 2017.
Majority of the banana are produced in Mindanao the south most island of the country. The
production of banana started in earlier 1960s and it has flourished in a much faster rate in eleven
provinces with approximately 50,000hectares of land and being under cultivation.
The banana export is the 5th largest export product in Philippines. In the year 2008, the banana
industry contributed taxes which were amounting to a total of 400 million pesos. The
production and exporting of banana in Philippines continuously to see tremendous growth and
popularity. The Philippines banana export is very competitive and it’s the 3rd biggest in the
world.
In 2012, the exports from the Philippines (essentially Cavendish cultivars) made up 98% of the
Asian banana trade. Two thirds of the exported volumes were shipped to Japan, China and South
Korea.
In 2015, the country produced nearly 9.1m tonnes of bananas on 443,270 ha with Cavendish
cultivars accounting for about 50% of national banana production, Saba (29%)
and Lakatan (11%). Latundan (a Silk cultivar) and other cultivars accounted for about 11%. At

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the beginning of the century, as many as 90 cultivars were estimated to be grown for local
consumption.Smallholder farmers commonly grow bananas primarily for home consumption in
backyard gardens. They grow a diversity of dessert and cooking cultivars depending on their
preferences and the ease with which they can be produced.
Banana consumption in china
China is considered as one of the center origin of banana, banana has been cultivated in china
for more than 2000years, and in the past two decades, it has become one of the most essential
fruit crops in the country. As the demand for banana in China is very high, with a production of
8,042,702 tonnes on an area of 311,106 ha in 2008, banana comes in fourth place, only after
apple, citrus and pear. As the demand for banana in the country is very high, banana produced
domestically can only meet 90% of the demand, the other 10% is met by imported banana with
the majority of banana are imported from Philippines and Cambodia. Banana are mainly grown
in Guangxi, Guangdong, Yunnan and Fujian provinces. The industry has been evolving in a
faster rate in the last two decades. However, Chinese banana production is still facing many
challenges such as pests and diseases, adverse weather conditions and level of industrialisation.

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