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Season calendar

Plantain season by country

Plantains ship from Ecuador, Colombia and Central America every week of the year. What that means for planning, and how they differ from bananas.

In season all year across Ecuador, Colombia, Guatemala and Honduras — some origin is at peak in every month.

Plantain export calendar: which origin ships in which month.
Origin January February March April May June July August September October November December
Ecuador January: Peak February: Peak March: Peak April: Peak May: Peak June: Peak July: Peak August: Peak September: Peak October: Peak November: Peak December: Peak
Colombia January: Peak February: Peak March: Peak April: Peak May: Peak June: Peak July: Peak August: Peak September: Peak October: Peak November: Peak December: Peak
Guatemala January: Peak February: Peak March: Peak April: Peak May: Peak June: Peak July: Peak August: Peak September: Peak October: Peak November: Peak December: Peak
Honduras January: Peak February: Peak March: Peak April: Peak May: Peak June: Peak July: Peak August: Peak September: Peak October: Peak November: Peak December: Peak
Peak — shipping in volume Shoulder — opening or closing Export windows out of the origin, not arrival weeks. Add the lane's transit.

Last reviewed August 2026. Windows are editorial ranges for a normal year, not a published schedule, and they are export weeks out of the origin rather than arrival weeks in your market.

Plantains ship year-round out of Ecuador, Colombia, Guatemala and Honduras on the same continuous programme logic as bananas, and often on the same vessels. There is no season to plan around.

The difference from bananas is at the destination rather than at origin: plantains are sold to a narrower set of buyers, in smaller lots, and they are frequently the part of a mixed load that gets deprioritised when a container has to be split. Knowing which box the plantains are actually in is worth more than knowing the month.

Ecuador

Ships year-round Load ports: Guayaquil and Posorja

Year-round, on the same continuous programme logic as bananas and frequently on the same vessels.

The complication with plantains is at the destination: smaller lots, a narrower set of buyers, and a habit of being the part of a mixed load that gets deprioritised when a container has to be split. Knowing which box they are in beats knowing the month.

Everything Ecuador ships, month by month · Ecuador → Rotterdam, Ecuador → United States

Colombia

Ships year-round Load ports: Cartagena, Santa Marta, Turbo, and Buenaventura

Year-round, on the same programme logic as bananas and frequently on the same vessels out of Urabá.

Colombia’s plantain trade skews towards the United States and towards diaspora retail rather than towards European multiples, which means smaller lots, more mixed loads and more opportunity for a consignment to get split across containers.

Everything Colombia ships, month by month

Guatemala

Ships year-round Load ports: Puerto Quetzal, Puerto Barrios, and Santo Tomás de Castilla

Year-round, alongside the banana programme and usually in the same booking.

Guatemalan plantain goes overwhelmingly to the United States. For a European buyer it is rarely the first choice of origin, but it is the one that fills in when Colombian or Ecuadorian supply is committed.

Everything Guatemala ships, month by month

Honduras

Ships year-round Load ports: Puerto Cortés

Year-round, with the banana programme.

Honduran plantain is a smaller trade than Ecuador’s or Colombia’s and it is almost entirely North American. It appears here because it ships continuously, which makes it a fallback when the larger origins are committed rather than a first call.

Everything Honduras ships, month by month

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The same origins also ship

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