Bananas took the top spot for the first time in the Dutch GroentenFruit Huis' Top 10 fruit purchases, published in July 2021, ousting apples. Consumers love bananas. Reportedly, people in the Netherlands eat about 720 million of them every year. In Belgium, too, with an average annual consumption of 7.42 kg in 2020, bananas are more popular than apples. In 2020, Belgians ate 7.33 kilos of apples each.
Bananas are, thus, not an unimportant product for supermarkets and greengrocers. Supermarkets, in particular, set prices, and that of bananas has been the subject of debate for years. In the second half of 2021, the leading Latin American, Caribbean, and African producer and export organizations were increasingly denouncing large buyers' hypocrisy. That is according to Bananalink, which promotes a fair and sustainable banana trade, among other things.
These large buyers expect increasingly more social and environmental standards to be met while paying less and less. Yet the tide seems to be turning. For a long time, shoppers could buy bananas for €0.99. Things seem to be changing with the announcement in December 2021 that Aldi's 2022 contract prices for banana purchases are €0.09/kg higher than in 2021.
Less significant
Still, Bananalink states that this price increase, which will mean an average increase of €1.80/box, could be less significant than it seems. In 2021, the contractual kilogram price was the lowest ever, says this lobbying organization. Also, costs are rising so fast that it is questionable whether the increased price actually covers more of the production costs. In a joint statement last September and again in January, South American banana producers and exporters expressed their concerns about rising costs.
The banana sector faces several price hikes. The cost of fertilizers rose between 35 and 45%, and cardboard and plastic prices increased by 30% and 45%, respectively. Exporters have noted a significant increase in ocean freight prices too. Growers and exporters say these costs directly negatively affect the banana sector's economic sustainability and competitiveness. Also, the increasingly extreme weather conditions in the region have irreparably damaged this sector.
Sources: Knack.be, Banalink.com, Nu.nl
