Bananas become Laos' top export earner
Bananas become Laos' top export earner
Banana crops topped the list of Lao agricultural exports as the highest revenue earner in the first six months of this fiscal year after plantations expanded in the northern provinces.
Laos exported almost 400,000 tonnes of bananas, worth over US$190 million, most of which were sold to China and some to Thailand, according to the Plant Protection Centre of the Department of Agriculture under the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry.
Other major agricultural export earners were sweetcorn, at 830,000 tonnes worth over US$122 million; cassava at around 350,000 tonnes, worth US$66.5 million; rubber at 314,000 tonnes, worth US$57.4 million; and coffee at 24,000 tonnes, worth US$51 million.
These figures relate only to exports going through plant protection checkpoints around the country; the numbers from other sectors could be similar or different.
The value may be higher if the authorities were able to get accurate details of the volume of agricultural produce passi ng through various channels. Also, some figures are unobtainable as there is still illegal trading along the borders.
Some plant protection checkpoints have not yet sent their figures to the Centre.
In the first six months of last fiscal year 2014-15, rubber was the top earner but this year dropped to fourth place as the price fell and some farmers began growing other commercial crops.
Bananas and sweetcorn are the main commercial crops in the northern provinces, while cassava is the major crop in the central provinces and coffee in the southern provinces.
Despite banana plantation investments having contributed to economic development, they are having increasing negative impacts on health and the environment, according to studies done by the National Agriculture and Forestry Research Institute in coop eration with the National University of Laos.
Some northern provincial governors announced that they would suspend concessions for banana crops but in fact plantations are still expanding in some areas as investors have signed contracts directly with the landowners.
Exports of Lao bananas have grown tenfold from more than 30.8 billion kip (US$3.8 million) in 2011-12 to more than 324.8 billion kip (US$40 million) in 2014-15.
Banana sales to China increased from 42 percent of total banana exports in 2011-12 to 88 percent in 2014-15 and are expected to rise further.
The commercial production of bananas could be an important source of income for poverty reduction in rural areas if banana cultivation is managed in line recommended practices as well as Lao laws and regulations.
