Bananas are Japan’s largest fruit import and could be about to bear the brunt of the global supply chain disruption as the country faces an ethylene shortage.
According to a report from Bloomberg, the Middle East conflict has disrupted supply of the naphtha-derived gas and stocks are running low.
Bananas are by far the largest category, representing 65.1 per cent of total fresh fruit imports in 2024, according to data from Japan’s Ministry of Finance. Japan imported a total of 1.041mn tonnes of bananas in 2024, marking the seventh consecutive year that banana imports have topped a million tonnes.
Bananas, along with other tropical fruits including avocados and kiwifruit, are ripened in rooms filled with ethylene before they are distributed to consumers.
Eiji Akashi, secretary general of the Japan Banana Importers Association, said the current ethylene shortage is the worst the industry has faced in five decades.
“Prices may rise, but we’re doing everything we can to avoid shortages,” Akashi said. “The entire banana industry is committed to doing everything it can to maintain stable supplies.”
Akashi said bananas are still reaching stores and some importers have secured enough supply to last a few more months. However, prices could rise as shortages increase.
Farmind, which handles about 30 per cent of imported banana processing in Japan, said it is seeking new domestic and overseas suppliers. Some related costs have gone up almost tenfold, a spokesperson for the company said.
“If this continues, bananas may disappear from Japanese dining tables,” the spokesperson said.