"We got 100% of what we needed from Ecuador, even after the earthquake," explains Commercial Director Simon Trewin. "But if you were buying on the spot, market prices were quite high at times. Those who had programs and long standing, good relationships had an uninterrupted supply."
Pratt's are also considering source countries a little further a field such as Guatemala, Peru and Honduras. Trewin said they always have an open mind for new sources but look to work on programmed, long term contacts.
Bananas sales across the year tend to be quite stable, there are no big peaks and troughs. Sales do tend to peak in the early summer and drop slightly in the holidays and rebuild towards winter and the start of the year but banana consumption is fairly static but stable.
"The growth in the smoothie trend has not increased banana sales as it has other categories such as berries," according to Trewin. "But remarkably banana sales have not been impacted as sales of other fruit increased. Nearly everyone loves bananas and giving out bananas at occasions, such as sporting events, has helped keep bananas in the consumer’s minds and keep consumption up."
It is known that retailers compete quite fiercely on banana prices and have been for quite a while, but there are also a socio-economic protocols and environmental protocols such as Fare Trade and the Rain Forest Reliance which are coming to the fore.
"Retailers do compete on price quite aggressively, but they do have to pay at a liveable level, otherwise ripeners and growers couldn’t afford to supply. It is a very complicated pricing system though," explains Trewin.
Organic bananas have seen some growth but does remain a very small part of the business.
Brexit
"I don't not think the Brexit will have a major affect on Pratt’s as our imports come from outside the EU. Whilst markets and exchange rates have been in turmoil you can already see some stability coming back. There may be some new negotiations to be done if we are outside the EU, but it remains to be seen what will happen. We hope that the change in situation will not affect our business with our growers."
Pratt's Bananas ripens around 220,000 18kg equivalent boxes of bananas per week, with a capacity of over 4,000 tonnes per week. The company acts as a ripener / service provider for some customers and imports and ripens for others. They supply a cross section of retailers as well as wholesalers and food service providers.
In recent weeks the company has gained a couple of tenders and one retailer has increased business with the company.
For more information:
Simon TrewinSH Praat Group
Tel: +44 1582 436 554
Email: simontrewin@SHPratt.com
www.shprattgroup.uk