The increase in shipments from the Canary Islands saturated the Spanish market in March, as banana imports remained stable at around 32,000 tons. The supply available in the Peninsula and the Balearic Islands stood at around 63,000 tons, and between 37% and 51% of that volume consisted of imported bananas.
In March 2019, 39,219 tons were shipped from the Canary Islands, while imports, mainly from Africa and Latin America, amounted to 32,300 tons. Since re-exports stood at 8,777 tons, Spanish consumers had access to some 62,743 tons of bananas. With these figures, the market share of imported bananas in March ranged from a minimum of 37% to a maximum of 51% of the supply available in Spain.
The main suppliers of imported bananas in March were Colombia, with 10,128 tons; Costa Rica, with 8,478 tons, and Cote d'Ivoire, with 5,295 tons. Together, these three countries accounted for 74% of the total volume.
So far in 2019, shipments from the Canary Islands have amounted to almost 90,334 tons, banana imports have stood at 97,795 tons and re-exports have reached 24,479 tons, so the available supply has totaled 172,650 tons, 7,927 more than in the same period of 2018. The accumulated market share of imported bananas has ranged from a minimum of 42% to a maximum of 57% of the supply available in Spain.
The main suppliers of imported bananas so far this year have been Costa Rica, with 26,364 tons; Colombia, with 24,226 tons, and Cote d'Ivoire, with 20,249 tons. Together, these three countries account for 72% of the total volume.
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