Mexican bananas have been sent to China for the first time, following the signing of an agreement in May last year that opened up the market to growers in the southeast.

The 39-metric-ton shipment left from the state of Colima on Tuesday, according to Agriculture Minister Víctor Villalobos.

The agreement opened up the market for producers in the states of Chiapas, Tabasco and Veracruz, where 30%, 27% and 10% of the country’s bananas are harvested respectively.

"In this shipment, there were 39MT of bananas, of which 20 came from a producer in San Antonio in the state of Tabasco, and 19 came from a producer in Marbella in the state of Chiapas," Villalobos said.

He also praised companies involved with Mexican bananas for their work in making achieving the feat, especially in terms of phytosanitary matters.

After the deal was signed, China's General Administration of Customs (AGA) published a list of 37 production companies and 49 packers authorized to grow and export bananas to China. All of the companies are located in Chiapas and Tabasco.

Mexico is the world's 12th largest banana producer, with annual volumes of 2.7m metric tons (MT). Around 30% of production is exported to 43 countries - now including China - with the U.S. being the main importer.