Papaya Market in Latin America and the Caribbean - Guatemala Emerges as the Fastest Growing Exporter

IndexBox has just published a new report: 'Latin America and the Caribbean - Papayas - Market Analysis, Forecast, Size, Trends and Insights'. Here is a summary of the report's key findings.

The revenue of the papaya market in Latin America and the Caribbean amounted to $4.1B in 2018, going up by 5.3% 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). 

Overall, papaya consumption continues to indicate a relatively flat trend pattern. The pace of growth appeared the most rapid in 2013 when the market value increased by 10% y-o-y. The level of papaya consumption peaked at $4.3B in 2014; however, from 2015 to 2018, consumption failed to regain its momentum.

Consumption By Country

The countries with the highest volumes of papaya consumption in 2018 were the Dominican Republic (1M tonnes), Brazil (1M tonnes) and Mexico (885K tonnes), together comprising 74% of total consumption.

From 2009 to 2018, the most notable rate of growth in terms of papaya consumption, amongst the main consuming countries, was attained by the Dominican Republic, while papaya consumption for the other leaders experienced more modest paces of growth.

In value terms, the largest papaya markets in Latin America and the Caribbean were Brazil ($1.2B), the Dominican Republic ($898M) and Mexico ($511M), together accounting for 64% of the total market. Cuba, Peru, Colombia and Venezuela lagged somewhat behind, together comprising a further 28%.

Production in Latin America and the Caribbean

The papaya production totaled 4.2M tonnes in 2018, growing by 7.2% against the previous year. In general, papaya production continues to indicate a relatively flat trend pattern. The most prominent rate of growth was recorded in 2018 with an increase of 7.2% year-to-year. The volume of papaya production peaked at 4.2M tonnes in 2016; afterwards, it flattened through to 2018. The general positive trend in terms of papaya output was largely conditioned by a relatively flat trend pattern of the harvested area and a relatively flat trend pattern in yield figures.

In 2018, approx. 97K ha of papayas were harvested in Latin America and the Caribbean; surging by 2.3% against the previous year. The average papaya yield totaled 43 tonne per ha in 2018, an increase of 4.8% y-oy.

Production By Country

The countries with the highest volumes of papaya production in 2018 were Brazil (1.1M tonnes), Mexico (1M tonnes) and the Dominican Republic (1M tonnes), with a combined 75% share of total production.

Exports in Latin America and the Caribbean

The exports amounted to 265K tonnes in 2018, shrinking by -2.9% against the previous year.  In value terms, papaya exports totaled $187M (IndexBox estimates) in 2018. The total export value increased at an average annual rate of +3.3% over the period from 2009 to 2018; however, the trend pattern indicated some noticeable fluctuations being recorded in certain years. The growth pace was the most rapid in 2014 when exports increased by 13% year-to-year. The level of exports peaked in 2018 and are likely to see steady growth in the immediate term.

Exports by Country

Mexico was the key exporter of papayas exported in Latin America and the Caribbean, with the volume of exports recording 155K tonnes, which was near 59% of total exports in 2018. It was distantly followed by Guatemala (59K tonnes) and Brazil (43K tonnes), together constituting a 38% share of total exports.

From 2009 to 2018, average annual rates of growth with regard to papaya exports from Mexico stood at +1.6%. At the same time, Guatemala (+53.8%) and Brazil (+5.0%) displayed positive paces of growth. Moreover, Guatemala emerged as the fastest-growing exporter in Latin America and the Caribbean, with a CAGR of +53.8% from 2009-2018. 

Guatemala (+22 p.p.), Mexico (+7.6 p.p.) and Brazil (+5.7 p.p.) significantly strengthened its position in terms of the total exports, while the shares of the other countries remained relatively stable throughout the analyzed period.

In value terms, Mexico ($90M), Brazil ($50M) and Guatemala ($37M) were the countries with the highest levels of exports in 2018, with a combined 95% share of total exports.

Guatemala experienced the highest rates of growth with regard to the value of exports, among the main exporting countries over the period under review, while exports for the other leaders experienced more modest paces of growth.

Export Prices by Country

The papaya export price in Latin America and the Caribbean stood at $706 per tonne in 2018, picking up by 14% against the previous year. 

There were significant differences in the average prices amongst the major exporting countries. In 2018, the country with the highest price was Brazil ($1,175 per tonne), while Mexico ($579 per tonne) was amongst the lowest.

From 2009 to 2018, the most notable rate of growth in terms of prices was attained by Mexico, while the other leaders experienced a decline in the export price figures.

Source: IndexBox Platform