HCMC – Vietnam has accounted for around half of China’s banana imports so far this year, driven by higher quality, improved packaging and logistical advantages, the Vietnam Fruit and Vegetable Association (Vinafruit) said.

According to Dang Phuc Nguyen, secretary general of Vinafruit, Vietnam has overtaken the Philippines as the largest banana exporter to China. Banana exports earned US$378 million in 2024 and are expected to reach US$1 billion in the near future. In the first six months of this year, banana exports reached US$233 million, up nearly 55% from a year earlier, ranking third among Vietnam’s fruit exports after durian and dragon fruit. Nguyen cited three factors behind the growth: competitive quality and prices, proximity to the market, and banana varieties resistant to the Panama disease, which affects plantations worldwide. In China, bananas are widely consumed fresh and used in processed foods. In Japan, Vietnamese bananas benefit from a 5.4% import tariff that will be reduced to zero by 2028 under the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).