Structural Positioning and Export Dominance in the Global Banana Trade: A Network Centrality Analysis (2010–2024)

This study examines the structural evolution of the global banana trade network using a Social Network Analysis (SNA) framework across six observation years (2010, 2015, 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2024), tracing how countries’ structural positions shift throughout the study period while highlighting the contrast between the initial and final network configurations. The results show that the network evolved from a relatively centralized structure in 2010, centered on a small core comprising Ecuador and the United States, to a denser and more multi-centered configuration by 2024. While Ecuador maintained a central role, countries such as Guatemala, Costa Rica, and Honduras strengthened their structural positions, reflected by increased connectivity and higher centrality scores. In particular, Guatemala’s transition from the periphery to the core illustrates the importance of network position in relation to export performance. The findings suggest that trade influence is associated not only with production capacity but also with relational positioning, connectivity, and brokerage roles. While this study employs descriptive network analysis and cannot establish causal mechanisms, the results indicate that network-based approaches provide valuable insights into the structural dynamics of the global banana trade that complement traditional volume-based analyses.