The global plantain market rose to $31.9B in 2019 (IndexBox estimates), surging by 2.6% against the previous year. This figure reflects the total revenues of producers and importers (excluding logistics costs, retail marketing costs, and retailers’ margins, which will be included in the final consumer price). The market value increased at an average annual rate of +3.5% from 2013 to 2019; the trend pattern remained relatively stable, with only minor fluctuations throughout the analyzed period. The pace of growth appeared the most rapid in 2014 with an increase of 6.9% y-o-y. Global consumption peaked in 2019 and is likely to see steady growth in the near future.
In physical terms, global plantain consumption experienced a similar trend pattern, increasing from 37M tonnes in 2013 to approx. 43M tonnes in 2019. Over the last two years, the market rebounded after a slight contraction of 2016 which was caused by the escalation of civil armed conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo which is the largest plantain consuming country.