Colombia's banana imports grew by 109% year-on-year from January to July in 2011, website Portafolio.co reported.

Imports stood at 36,332 metric tons (MT) for the first seven months of this year compared with 17,418MT for the same period in 2010.

However, imports banana-based snacks dropped by 16% according to the Center of Virtual Business (CVN).

Company Comercio Internacional de Productos Agrícolas y del Mar S.A. imported 18,015MT for January and July, making it the largest importer exceeding Ecuacolombiana Ltd's 9,961MT for the same period in 2010.

Both distributors recorded banana import growth of 153% and 65% respectively for the period.

However,  the two most commonly imported  varieties, manzanito and orito, dropped by 16% to 2,214MT.

Dry banana imports for flour with main importer Comercio Internacional de Productos Agrícolas y del Mar S.A. stood at 673,131MT of which 261,721MT was imported from Ecuador.

Photo: Flickr, Ian Ransley