Costa Rica: Banana market is positive, but not robust

Costa Rican banana exporters are satisfied with the results of the association agreement with the EU (AACUE), which improved the access conditions achieved in the Geneva Agreement in December 2009 and solved the banana dispute with the EU.

"The AACUE is definitely a great alternative and we believe that Costa Rica is currently well positioned to face the European market. It is an agreement that affects not only the business side, as it involves a policy of cooperation and partnership with Europe, our largest market to which we send almost half of our shipments of bananas," said Jorge Sauma, general manager of the National Banana Corporation (Corbana).

Currently, the banana market is in a relatively stable situation, but this stability is not robust, because the banana cycle might have an imbalance caused by the upward trend in the international supply, which can be affected by many climatic changes in the different producing countries.

This year, exports of bananas from Costa Rica have remained at about 107 million boxes, thanks to the good weather, even though there have been periods of low rainfall but no drought.

"We've managed to differentiate Costa Rica's product based on the social and environmental emphasis of our production. That's why we were able to obtain the Costa Rican Banana geographical indication, a label that will offer consumers a product with added value. It is something I believe consumer should know," said the manager of Corbana.

Moreover, despite having slightly dropped, shipments from Africa or West Indies are still 4% above the average level for this moment and have very competitive prices, which, combined with a lower demand exerts increases pressure on the supply.

The German market has a stable supply, since, according to Jorge Sauma, the shortages of supply in Colombia's offer was supplied in part by Ecuador and Costa Rica.

"The levels of demand are favourable thanks to the current climate and there is still little competition from other fruits. In general, the situation is very similar to that recorded during the same week in previous seasons. However, we're finishing the first part of the year and about to start the second half, which is usually more competitive and has a bigger supply. Regarding Russia, banana exporters have not noticed any substantial changes yet, but it is possible that the trends will be affected in the medium term."

Corbana's manager considered that the changes being made in the process of ripening bananas were a good move that would open new opportunities for exporters and importers, even though it "implies the risk saturating the market, it will offer marketers significant and positive alternatives," concluded Jorge Sauma.