In the first quarter of the year, Colombia exported 486,816 tons of bananas, equivalent to 24.3 million boxes. In January, the country exported 157,519 tons of bananas. In February, shipments fell to 149,265 tons, and in March the exported volumes increased to 180,032 tons favored by the edaphoclimatic conditions present since December 2020. 62.5% of the exports made from January to March were shipped from the port of Turbo (Antioquia), 36.4% from the port of Santa Marta, and the remaining 1% from the ports of Cartagena and Barranquilla.
In the Port of Santa Marta, Tecbaco's exports accounted for 43% of the total, Banasan participated with 27% of shipments, Uniban participated with 11% of shipments, Banarica and Fullfruit with 8% and 3%, respectively, and other companies accounted for the remaining 7%. 78% of the shipments made through the port of Cartagena corresponded to the Banasan trading company and their main destination was South Korea. 31% of the cargo that left through the port of Barranquilla was from Uniban.
180,550 tons (9 million boxes) were exported through the ports of the Caribbean region, i.e. 37.1% of the country's exports. The main export destination for the fruit shipped in this region was the United States market, with received 35% of the exported fruit. It was followed by Belgium with 24%, the United Kingdom with 19%, and the Netherlands and Germany with 7% each. The remaining 9% was sent to other destinations.