The popularity of bananas does not seem to have waned despite the ongoing global financial crisis, with a new report issued by the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) showing that global sales – particularly in developing countries – have remained stable.
Overall banana imports are expected to drop slightly to 13.8m tonnes this year, just over 3 per cent less than levels seen in 2007, although developing nations have experienced an upswing in demand, driven by China.
According to the FAO report, if the recession were to bottom out by the end of 2010, the demand for bananas is would surge by around 8 per cent.
'With steady growth in populations and income, and rising awareness about the positive nutritional value of fruit, global banana and tropical fruit consumption is likely to continue its upward trend in the next few decades,' the report noted.
Trade in bananas and tropical fruit accounts for nearly 40 per cent of the global fruit market, the study said.
The FAO report will be launched at a meeting of global fruit experts later this week (9-11 December), alongside another study that will call for greater resources to map banana and plantain diseases, with the agency warns could cause over US$4bn (€2.7bn) worth of damage by 2010.
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