During the holidays, the banana market was not at its best, but the situation now seems to have changed. “At the beginning of the year, the green and yellow markets were both sluggish. The dollar banana prices were between 7 and 8 euros [7.9 to 9 USD]. Then, after about 3 weeks to a month, the green banana market became very active, and the yellow banana market is also starting to boom,” explains François Moran of Tropibana.
“The market is currently between 12 and 14 euros [13.5 and 15.8 USD] for American bananas and between 15 and 16 euros [16.9 and 18 USD] for French bananas. I believe the South-American bananas will overtake the West Indies origin and American bananas will also soon be at 15 to 16 euros [16.9 and 18 USD].”
This price increase is the result of a combination of factors. “At the moment, there are fewer bananas on the market. It is winter time and the cold temperatures are favorable for the consumption of bananas, apples and pears. But since there are very few pears on the European market, people are buying bananas.”
François Moran works a lot with the Guadeloupe and Martinique origins, with which he is very satisfied. “In recent years, the products from the West Indies have been gaining in quality and the bananas are really starting to become premium. At the moment, the quality is very satisfactory because there is a good selection process in production and we are also entering the time of year when the quality will improve, with bananas that are more round and better shaped. We work more and more with Bananas of Guadeloupe and Martinique in order to associate Tropibana with the French origin. We have been very grateful for the trust they place in us.”
For more information:
Tropibana
François Moran
Phone: +33.620.17.20.13
f.moran@atominternational.com