The market share of Canary bananas stable at 75%

In Spain, the total consumption of bananas from the Canary Islands and from other countries has reached 386,304 tonnes in the first 40 weeks of 2016; an increase of 5% over the same period in 2015. Of this total, more than 289 million kilos corresponded to bananas from the Canary Islands consumed in the Peninsula and the Balearic Islands between January and mid-October, meaning that their market share has stabilised at 75% in the first 10 months of 2016.

 

While fruit sales in Spain have continued their downward trend in 2016, Canary bananas have been able to achieve a positive recovery, with an increase in their sales volume outside the Canary Islands of more than 30,000 tonnes compared to the same period of the previous year.

 

These results are good news for the Canary banana sector as far as the demand and reputation of the product across Spain is concerned. It is the result of a model of production, organization and collective investment that has made it possible to convey the added value that the product offers compared to bananas from third countries.

 

However, this positive trend in the consumer market contrasts with the price crisis at origin that growers from the Islands have been struggling with for the entire year. 2016 has been a record year for banana production in the Canaries and production will exceed 400,000 tonnes per year. This growth has resulted in a larger supply, and although most of the productive pressure has been alleviated by the increase in the consumption of Canary bananas, there is still some left due to the differential in the selling price to the public. Specifically, during that 40-week period, producers have obtained an average price of 0.75 €/kg in the Peninsula, while the average retail price has reached 1.77 €/Kg for the Canary bananas, compared to the 1.22 €/kg of bananas from other countries.

 

As stated by Henry Sicilia, President of ASPROCAN, "this differential at the point of sale is not justified by the prices at origin, where the difference between Canary bananas and those from other countries amounts, on average, to less than 0.10 € per kilo during the period at hand. It is not possible to ask Canary banana producers to struggle with prices at the edge of profitability due to the speculative impact of bananas from other origins, while we see how the final price of our product to the consumer increases, reducing our sales options.