Where Do Costco's Bananas Come From?

Whether it is for smoothies, topping your cereal, or just eating straight, a cluster of bananas are a go-to item for many grocery shoppers. Appealing in their green to bright yellow ombre, these ready snackers are easy to take with you and eat, and they pack a nutritious punch. With plenty of fiber, potassium, and electrolytes, bananas keep you full, help digestion, and may even aid in sports recovery. While you may load up your cart with them (hint: look for bunches with a green intact stem), you might never have considered where they come from. Bananas need a warm tropical environment to grow, and Costco's bananas come from Costa Rica, Honduras, Guatemala, Colombia, Ecuador, or Peru.

Bananas are more than cute, uniform bunches on a Costco display. They are consumed en masse worldwide, are inexpensive, and what's more, they are the most traded fruit worldwide. In fact, for many Latin American and Caribbean countries, they make up a significant portion of their economy. For example, in Ecuador, the global leader in banana exports, they make up a quarter of the country's non-petroleum exports. That's a lot of bananas for you to grab at Costco. Just be sure not to store them on the counter to keep them from going brown too quickly. If you got too overzealous and nabbed more bunches than you can eat, you can always use the overripe ones to make banana bread, banana pancakes, or banana cream pie.