Berries have overtaken bananas in global trade volume

During the final berry event of 2023 called “Berry Market 2023”, organized by the Moldovan berry growers’ association “Pomuşoarele Moldovei”, FAO economist Andriy Yarmak presented an assessment of the state, trends and development prospects of the world berry market. According to EastFruit, during the expert’s presentation, several unexpected figures were announced at once. In particular, most market participants were surprised that global trade in berries overtook bananas in 2021 and continued to hold the lead in 2022 despite the first decline in export volumes in many years. In general, the export of fresh and frozen berries at the end of 2022 brought exporters about $13.7 billion, while trade in bananas for the same year brought their exporters only about $13.7 billion. Trade volumes in berries grew at an average rate of 9.8%, or $1.2 billion, per year, significantly faster than the overall fruit category, which grew at an average rate of 4.3%, or $4.5 billion, per year. The ...