The Spanish domestic market is and will remain the main market for Canary bananas; however, the growing production in the Canaries will also make it necessary to develop when it comes to exporting to countries beyond the Iberian Peninsula. The goal is to find a long-term solution to situations of excess production on the islands and generate new opportunities in the future, as was shown in the latest edition of Fruit Logistica, the most important international fair for fruits and vegetables in Europe.
The regular export of bananas has often been challenging, mainly due to the low prices that other suppliers are willing to offer.
This means that in exceptional periods, such as last year (2018), exports outside the Peninsula become difficult, since they entail losses for producers.
The sector's forecast for 2019 and the next few years is that the trend towards a more tropical climate will continue, which would result in an increase in production. Given this situation, it is necessary to strive for a scenario in which the production can meet the demand from the domestic market and, at the same time, have surpluses at certain times of the year.
Aware of this, the sector wants a long-term plan to make it possible for Canary bananas to be sold in other markets, and those markets should remain open. To this end, the ASPROCAN partners have agreed on an internationalization strategy for Plátano de Canarias, which includes joint actions and measures to support the PO's willing to undertake export projects to new markets.
This strategy pursues two clearly differentiated objectives: the export to European markets of a value-added product, and the marketing of conventional categories in seasonal markets as an alternative to the domestic market.
Throughout 2018, Plátano de Canarias has managed to maintain stable exports to Switzerland, both under its Bio line and its conventional line. Currently, the country's two main retail chains sell Plátano de Canarias.
In this same line, exports to Germany started in 2018. In this market, work has been carried out to train local ripeners in the specific ripening of Canary bananas, and the entire logistics chain has been optimized. This is making it possible for the German product to be brought into the market in better conditions and to be delivered to stores more frequently than the bananas from other origins. Such a system makes it possible to reach the Central European market in the best conditions.
In any case, the sector recalls the need to be aware that the European market is traditionally dominated by large banana operators, and that it faces certain difficulties when it comes to prices, volumes, shipment regularity and low tolerance with regard to to the fruit's heterogeneity. This entails that, in the case of Canary bananas, only small volumes are marketable after going through a selection process. Moreover, there's a need for investments in communication and product differentiation at the point of sale to justify the price difference. In this area, ASPROCAN has launched an investment program for the promotion of the Canary Banana PGI in large European retailers.
In a similar way, the sector is looking for other markets that can make it possible to supply seasonally at certain times of the year.
An example of this is Morocco, which lacks production at certain times of the year. The objective is to sell the volumes that the domestic market cannot absorb and which are not suitable to be sold in European markets. After all, the goal is to work on all possible lines of action to bring stability to the domestic market and, as a whole, to make the Canary banana production as viable as possible.
For more information:
Marta Rodríguez
+34 922 53 51 42 / +34 690 876 356
[email protected]
