In inflationary times, food is less affected than other categories and fresh fruit even less, as around 75% of consumers kept buying the same or more amount of fresh fruits. Speaking from the banana fields of their latest organic farm Finca San Jorge in Ecuador, Michaela Schneider, Fyffes Business Development Manager says: “Banana retail prices have been relatively stable for years in Continental European markets.”
(left) Leslie Medina, the Fyffes farmer responsible for the Finca San Jorge farm in Ecuador, and his team.
“Due to the challenging environment and cost development in recent years, in 2023, in some European countries the retail price for premium bananas went above €2, for the first time ever. And still, bananas are a good value for money product in consumer’s mind. However, a lot of banana price promotion has been visible as part of the general retail approach to drive consumer traffic to their stores. According to our consumer research findings, consumers do not have a good recall on consumer banana prices. They overstated what they paid for a kg of bananas and rated bananas as extremely affordable.
"Looking at the nutritional and other aspects of bananas and all the efforts being done to produce and market a socially and environmentally responsible product; bananas are undervalued for what they offer. Around two thirds of banana buyers are willing to spend more for a banana that is certified as being organic or Fairtrade. So, even in a challenging environment like we have at the moment, there is a potential to increase consumer prices,” says Schneider.
On the Finca San Jorge farm, situated over one hour's drive away from the city of Guayaquil in Ecuador, Fyffes grows organic bananas which are a special natural sub-variety of the Cavendish banana variety. "It stays green for longer, has some unique characteristics especially in flavour and taste and it is a Fyffes exclusive sub-variety that we grow and market," states Schneider.
Leslie Medina is the Fyffes farmer responsible for the Finca San Jorge farm as well as the company's other farms in Costa Rica and the region. "This organic farm with 144 hectares planted is relatively new in a new production area with other organic producers. It is about one and a half hours away from the city of Guayaquil. The banana production is very important for rural families in the area, it creates jobs while supporting schools, clinics etc.”
“At Fyffes, we invest in our social and environmental development with workers and communities as this is part of our sustainability targets linked to our ‘Enriching people’s lives’ sustainability pillar. We are implementing a gender equality program where our workers participate in trainings on topics that are very useful for their lives, such as interpersonal relationships, assertive communication, personal finances and family health. On the other hand, we have made donations to the food bank as part of our commitment to healthy nutrition,” explains Medina.
Jaime Nuques, the organic sources manager of Fyffes in Latin America, says the organic banana category has Ecuador and the Dominican Republic as the main exporters to the US and European markets. "Around 11% of the Fairtrade bananas sold worldwide are organic bananas sold through Fyffes. There are specific challenges for organic production. One of the top challenges being nitrogen, leaf spot disease (Sigatoka) and thrips or insects that damage the skin of the bananas and make it less visually appealing."
The areas where organic bananas can be produced are limited due to a lack of suitable soil, weather and water availability. However, consumers are getting more interested in sustainable and responsible products and therefore, banana organic production is one solution to address their needs says Nuques.
The Fyffes organic farm was visited as part of the Association of Ecuadorian Banana Exporters (AEBE) XX (20th) International Convention, Banana Time 2023, which took place at the Hilton Colón Hotel in Guayaquil from October 24 to 27, 2023.
For more information:
Michaela Schneider
Fyffes
Tel: +31 102 445390
Email: mscheinder@fyffes.com
www.fyffes.com