What is the most commonly exported banana variety today?

Cavendish is the most commonly exported banana variety today.

The name refers to a group of closely related cultivars in the Cavendish subgroup of the AAA group of Musa acuminata. Grande Naine is especially important in international trade, while Dwarf Cavendish is one of the most widely grown forms. In everyday shops, the familiar yellow banana is usually a Cavendish type.

Cavendish became dominant after the earlier export favorite, Gros Michel, was devastated by Panama disease in the mid-twentieth century. Cavendish plants could be grown in many of the same soils and became the industry’s replacement. The change is why older descriptions of the “classic” banana may refer to Gros Michel rather than the fruit most people eat now.

The dominance comes with a risk: commercial Cavendish plants are largely propagated as clones, so their genetic diversity is low. That makes plantations vulnerable to diseases such as Fusarium wilt, including Tropical Race 4, even though Cavendish remains the leading export type.