HS Code for Bananas
Bananas are classified under HTSUS heading 0803, which covers bananas and plantains, fresh or dried. Dessert bananas point toward subheading 0803.90, which carries a general rate of Free and separate statistical lines for certified organic, fresh and dried fruit, while plantains have their own subheading at 0803.10. Processed forms such as frozen bananas, banana flour and prepared banana chips move to other chapters with their own rates. Confirming whether the fruit is a banana or a plantain, and its form, is the first step in exploring the most appropriate code.
HTS Codes for Bananas
| HTS Code | Description | Duty Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 0803.90.00.35 | Bananas, fresh (other than certified organic) Fresh or chilled dessert bananas such as Cavendish, conventionally grown | Free |
| 0803.90.00.25 | Bananas, certified organic Certified organic bananas, reported on their own statistical line | Free |
| 0803.90.00.45 | Bananas, dried (other than certified organic) Sun-dried or dehydrated bananas that are not fried, sweetened or otherwise prepared | Free |
| 0803.10.10.00 | Plantains, fresh Fresh or chilled plantains (starchy cooking bananas) | Free |
| 0803.10.20.00 | Plantains, dried Dried plantains, not further prepared | 1.4% |
| 0811.90.10.00 | Bananas and plantains, frozen Frozen banana or plantain pieces, whether or not cooked or sweetened | 3.4% |
| 1106.30.20.00 | Flour, meal and powder of banana and plantain Green banana flour and banana or plantain powder | 2.8% |
| 2008.99.13.00 | Bananas, otherwise prepared or preserved: pulp Banana pulp and puree prepared for further processing | 3.4% |
| 2008.99.15.00 | Bananas, otherwise prepared or preserved: other Fried banana chips, sweetened or canned bananas and other prepared banana products | 0.8% |
How to Approach Classification for Bananas
Heading 0803 of the HTSUS covers bananas and plantains, fresh or dried, and splits them into two subheadings. Plantains, the starchier cooking bananas usually eaten cooked, point toward 0803.10. All other bananas, including the Cavendish dessert bananas that make up most US imports, point toward 0803.90.
Within 0803.90 there is a single 8-digit line with a general rate of Free, and the 10-digit statistical suffixes separate certified organic bananas (0803.90.00.25) from other fresh bananas (0803.90.00.35) and other dried bananas (0803.90.00.45). The plantain subheading works differently: fresh plantains (0803.10.10) are Free, while dried plantains (0803.10.20) carry a small ad valorem rate, so for plantains the fresh versus dried distinction also changes the estimated duty.
Once bananas go beyond fresh or simply dried, other headings come into play. Frozen bananas and plantains point toward 0811.90.10, banana and plantain flour or powder toward 1106.30.20, and bananas otherwise prepared or preserved toward heading 2008, where banana pulp (2008.99.13) is separated from other prepared bananas (2008.99.15), such as fried banana chips or sweetened and canned bananas.
The boundary between chapter 8 and chapter 20 is the one most worth checking. Drying on its own generally keeps bananas in heading 0803, while frying, adding sugar, cooking or packing in syrup points toward heading 2008. A banana chip that is fried in oil, for example, is generally a prepared product rather than a dried fruit.
A practical sequence is to confirm whether the product is a banana or a plantain, then its form (fresh, dried, frozen, milled into flour or otherwise prepared), and finally whether it is certified organic. That order usually points toward a single most-appropriate code to explore.
Duty Rate Overview
General duty rates for bananas are low. Fresh and dried bananas under 0803.90 carry a general rate of Free, as do fresh plantains, while dried plantains carry around 1.4%. Processed forms differ: frozen bananas and plantains run around 3.4%, banana and plantain flour around 2.8%, banana pulp around 3.4% and other prepared bananas such as banana chips around 0.8%. Preferential rates under free trade agreements may reduce or eliminate duties further for qualifying origins.
These are general (MFN) rates only. Additional duties under Section 301 or IEEPA-based measures may apply depending on the country of origin, and fresh bananas are subject to USDA APHIS fruit and vegetable admissibility requirements (approved origins and ports of entry) as well as FDA food facility registration and prior notice. These figures are estimates for general planning purposes only.