In 2023
Commercialisation of banana increased by 10.8% compared to the preceding year
According to the data provided by the Regional Directorate of Agriculture (DRA), a total of 25.2 thousand tonnes of bananas produced in Madeira were commercialised in 2023. This reflected a rise of 2.5 thousand tonnes compared to the year 2022, representing a percentage increase of +10.8%. It is noteworthy that this volume of commercialised bananas is the highest since 1999.
In 2023, only the extra class experienced growth compared to the previous year (+15.2%), while classes I (-6.7%) and II (-12.3%) recorded declines when compared to 2022. The extra class of bananas reached 21.4 thousand tonnes, constituting 84.7% of the total commercialised (compared to 81.4% in the previous year), marking a historical high.
Out of the total banana production, 85.7% was shipped, primarily to mainland Portugal (85.0% in 2022), with the remaining 14.3% being traded in the regional market (15.0% in the preceding year).
September of 2023 witnessed the highest volume of banana commercialisation (3.3 thousand tonnes), while February recorded the lowest volume of this product (1.0 thousand tonnes).
October and September were the months with the highest year-on-year increases (+33.4% and +24.2%, respectively). Conversely, February, December, and March were the only months in 2023 that experienced year-on-year declines in this indicator (-21.2%, -8.6%, and -5.4%, in that order).
