Which Fruit Is the Most Consumed Worldwide?

Bananas (Musa species) are the world most popular fruit by consumption volume. India is the largest producer (about 30 million tonnes annually), followed by China and Indonesia, though much of their production is consumed domestically. The global export market is dominated by Latin American countries: Ecuador, Costa Rica, Colombia, and Guatemala supply most of the bananas eaten in Europe and North America. Nearly all commercially exported bananas are a single cultivar: the Cavendish, which replaced the Gros Michel after Panama disease wiped it out in the 1950s. Today, the Cavendish itself faces a similar existential threat from a new strain of Fusarium wilt (Tropical Race 4, or TR4), which has spread from Southeast Asia to Latin America. The banana industry is worth about $25 billion annually and provides livelihoods for millions of smallholder farmers in tropical regions.