The lower supply of Latin American pineapples in Europe is causing prices to remain higher than usual in the Spanish market, at a time, after the summer, when consumption usually drops a little. This year, the supply during the Christmas campaign is expected to be limited, and that's when pineapple consumption usually peaks in Spain.
"At the moment, the main origin of the pineapples imported into Spain is still Costa Rica, although other countries, such as Panama, Colombia or the Dominican Republic, among others, are also supplying the market," says Sandra Sitjar, marketing director of Cultivar, one of the main Spanish companies importing and marketing exotic fruits.
According to Sandra Sitjar, pineapple production costs are still very high today. "Shortages and very high fertilizer prices continue to be a problem. Logistics costs, too. These are falling for some origins, but remain high in Costa Rica's case," she says. "To that we can add the new CO₂ tax, which shipping lines could start implementing as of January 2024."
The demand continues to focus on ripe pineapple, to the detriment of green pineapple, which has been in free fall for the last few years. "At this time, as it typically happens after the summer months, the demand is falling slightly and the entry of higher volumes is pushing prices down," says the marketing manager of this company.
"This year, the impact of El Niño and everything mentioned above are causing less fruit to arrive in the markets, so prices are not suffering as much, compared to previous years. In the coming weeks, volumes will improve somewhat, but we are expecting a Christmas campaign with limited volumes, especially for the larger sizes, and both for green and ripe pineapples," said Sandra Sitjar.
For more information:
Patricia Antón
CULTIVAR
Longitudinal 9 n.º 30
08040 Barcelona
+34 911 44 10 80
[email protected]
www.cultivar.net
www.exoticapremiumfrutas.com