Banana, mango, and pineapple, leading fruit produced and traded worldwide

There are about 3,000 tropical and subtropical fruit species worldwide, close to 500 of which are found in Asia. Southeast Asia has about 120 major and 275 minor species of tropical and subtropical fruits and nuts, although newly 200 species removed undeveloped and underutilized. Faylon et al. (PCARRD) studied the worldwide production and trade of major tropical and sub-tropical fruits. Findings of the study revealed the following: world production of tropical fruits was estimated at 138.6 M t in 2004, about 2.7% higher than the 2003 production level. The three major tropical fruit varieties produced were banana(51% of the world production), mango(17.5%), and pineapple(11%) followed by papaya(6%) and avocado (2.4%). Minor fruits produced in smaller volumes such as lychees, durian, rambutan, guavas and passion fruits comprised 12% of total production. India was the world's top banana producer with 24% contribution to the 70.89 M t total production in 2004. Brazil and Ecuador ranked second and third with 9.3% and 8.5% contribution, respectively. Four Asian countries followed namely: China(4th); Philippines(5th); Indonesia(6th); and Thailand(9th). The whole of Asia supplied more than half(53%) of the total world's banana production. Mangoes, like banana, were predominantly produce in India contributing nearly 45% of the 24.34 M t world production in 2004. Other key producers were Thailand and Mexico, each supplying 7% during the year. Pakistan, Indonesia, and the Philippines ranked 4th, 5th, and 6th, respectively. Asia's contribution accounted for 74% of the world's mango production. World production of pineapples was 15.48 M t in 2004 about 2.8% more than the previous year. Nearly half of the total produce came from Asia notably the Philippines, Thailand and China. India was the major producer of papaya(31%), followed by Brazil(19%). Avocados mostly came from Mexico(32%), Indonesia (8%), and the US (6%). In general, tropical fruits produced worldwide were for domestic, local consumption. Only mango, banana, pineapple, papaya, and avocado were traded in the global markets. These fruits were generally produced in commercial scale and their commercialization, to a large extents, had been affecting development of other fruit varieties that have promising economic potential. Banana was the most internationally traded tropical fruit with about 25% of the 70.89 M t production sold overseas in 2004. Bananas comprised 85% of all tropical fruit exports with Ecuador, Costa Rica, and the Philippines as top three exporters. Volume of export increased from less than 1% in 2002 to nearly 8% in 2004. United States was the major market for banana, importing 26% of the world total in 2004. Other major importers were Germany and Japan. The bulk of mango exports came from Mexico, India, and Brazil. Volume exports increased in 2004 by a modest 5% following an enormous increased of 41% in 2003. Mexico exported 190,000 t, followed by Brazil with 140,000 t. The major markets for mangoes were the United States that imported 35% of the world total, while in the European Union accounted for 20%. Papaya exports increased by 47% in 2004 compared with the previous year. The largest exporter was Mexico with 75,000 t during the year followed by Malaysia, 70,000 t and Brazil, 40,000 t. The United States was the major papaya importer that accounted for 50% of the world total. Export of the other tropical fruits was less than 10% of the total production except for avocado with 12%. Overall, import demand for tropical fruits for the next decade is expected to increase, import volume will also definitely expand. FAO projections for 2014 indicate annual increase in export volume by 1.4% for mango, 1.7% for pineapple, 2% for avocado, and 5.6% for papaya. The United States, European Community and Japan will remain the largest import markets for tropical fruits.