The banana market slows down starting from mid-May but, this year, the weather has remained spring-like, which contributed to keeping consumption above average. "Sales usually drop when school finishes, but things have been going differently this year, as children stopped going to school on March 5th due to the pandemic. Consumption peaked during the lockdown - as did that of other products - but prices did not increase," reports Ilfres, a company specializing in the import of fresh produce operating in southern Italy.
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"Sales have slowed down over the past three weeks, which is normal yet slightly more accentuated this year due to the limited orders from the hospitality segment. The fruit is currently coming in from Ecuador, Costa Rica and Colombia. Quality is medium-good, but consumption is slower due to the availability of domestic summer fruit."
"As for quotations, the price of premium bananas has remained more or less stable, though of course it dropped slightly at the start of the summer season. The most significant drop was registered for unbranded bananas. In this period, it is easy to find produce on sale at €0.99/kg in many popular chains."