When it comes to moving bananas, things are running smoothly right now.
“It’s business as usual in terms of supplies from South and Central America,” says Anthony Serafino of Exp Group, LLC based in North Bergen, New Jersey. “But given the global pandemic, the situation is extremely fluid.”
Serafino notes that while Exp Group’s supplies look similar to last year at this time, overall he sees more supplies available. “How the market will react to those supplies remains to be seen. But given how strong the uncertainty is around the global health scenario, we just really don’t know. It’s something that’s very difficult to forecast,” he says.
Demand lightening?
Meanwhile demand for bananas in the past two weeks has been strong, as it has been for select commodities. “It’s tapered off a little bit but there’s still demand for the fruit,” says Serafino. “What remains to be seen, who knows? But right now, there is demand for the product.”
All of this has left pricing relatively standard and comparable to last year’s pricing.
While it’s business as usual for now, Serafino does emphasize that uncertainty lies ahead. The company’s Cavendish Bananas continue to arrive at ports in Miami, Brooklyn and New York from Guatemala, Honduras, Costa Rica and Ecuador. “We’re importing as usual but next week, I could tell you something different,” he says. “It’s tough because we’re buying fruit two weeks out so we don’t know. We just don’t know how things are changing.”
For more information:
Anthony Serafino
Exp Group, LLC
Tel: +1 (201) 662-2001
anthony@expgroup.us
www.expgroup.us