The global banana industry is looking back on some eventful months: Throughout the summer, noticeable surpluses put considerable pressure on the market, which is why there were sometimes rock-bottom prices on the spot market. Due to logistical problems, the situation changed completely within two to three months, says Felix Stamer, product manager at Direct Fresh.
Complicated logistics are currently throwing a wrench into the entire banana supply chain. "The demand is there; we could have sold even more than we do now. The difficulty is getting the goods out of the source countries. Either the delivery containers and ships are full, or they are offered at exorbitant prices 60 percent above the normal level," Stamer explains. Added to this are the noticeable bottlenecks in packaging materials, such as banana cartons.
Felix Stamer, Product Manager Bananas at Direct Fresh, and Demeter producer Fernando Monsalve at the Demeter stand at BioFach 2019 in Nuremberg.
Impending bottlenecks
Although similar challenges are encountered with other overseas products, such as Chinese garlic, the banana sector is also already fearful for the next marketing year. Stamer: "Despite the limited cargo space, we can continue to serve our existing customers, even with a slight increase. If this continues, supply bottlenecks in the first half of 2022 cannot be ruled out in my view."
Rising sales of Demeter bananas
Direct Fresh is at home in the overseas produce sector and supplies its customers throughout Europe with a wide range of bananas, from conventional to Fairtrade organic and Demeter bananas. The latter product line has become the company's hobbyhorse since its launch in 2019. "We have been able to increase sales of our Ecuadorian Demeter fruit and have shown our customers that the quantity and quality has remained consistently stable throughout the season. We now want to further expand this business. Otherwise, I am convinced that organic Fairtrade bananas will experience a boost in the coming years," Stamer concludes.
For more information:
Direct Fresh GmbH
Felix Stamer
Mobile: +49 162 303 3353
Email: [email protected]
www.direct-fresh.de
https://www.df-sourcing.de/en/index.php
