The global trade in conventional bananas has become increasingly concentrated over the past decade. As a result, nowadays most of the bananas offered at German retailers are imported directly, which is why the general conditions for smaller fruit importers are tending to become more difficult. Santiago Figueroa, managing director of Tinofrutas Ltd, which was founded in 2008 and is based in Neuenstadt am Kocher, Germany, would like to offer bulk buyers in Germany and neighboring countries an alternative in the form of high-quality bananas grown by smallholder growers in Ecuador.
Tinofrutas Ltd was founded in 2008 as a subsidiary of Tinofrutas Cía Ltda. with the aim of offering bananas from the southern coast of Ecuador on the European market. Tinofrutas now has another main supplier in Palmar, a well-known producer cooperative in southern Ecuador. "We had to temporarily stop our banana imports last year due to the Ukraine crisis and the more difficult conditions, but we are now operational again. In general, we find that the conventional banana market, especially in Germany, is quite saturated, which in turn is reflected in the price situation," Figuero says.
Increased freight and customs clearance costs
"We have to fight for every penny in day-to-day practice," Figueroa continues. The unfavorable dollar rates and increased freight and customs clearance costs are also particularly detrimental to imports from Ecuador, he adds. "We pay about 4.50-5.00 per colli (18kg carton) in logistics costs, which is much higher compared to, say, Colombia. This, of course, has a negative impact on profit margins. Accordingly, we have suffered significant losses in the past two years. Nevertheless, we have also learned a lot in the past years and we are always ready to adapt to the rapid changes in the market."
In addition to Germany, Tinofrutas also serves customers in countries such as France and the Netherlands.
Private label launch
This, he says, prompted the dedicated fruit importer to restructure its business. "We want to fundamentally reorient ourselves and move more in the direction of organic, as we see good sales opportunities for organic bananas in Germany. Numerous small farmers market their goods on the roadside or at local markets, even though the bananas are unbeatable in terms of quality. Our goal now is to bring these goods under one roof and market them as an overall concept in Europe. To this end, we have launched our new private label Tino-Fresh." The first conventional private label bananas are scheduled to be loaded in Rotterdam in mid-April, with the first organic bananas expected to follow in the second half of the year, the company adds.
Expansion of the product range
Not only bananas grow and thrive particularly well in Ecuador, but also numerous other tropical fruits. Figueroa says: "Because of this, we are aiming to expand our product portfolio to include pitahaya, pineapple and possibly passion fruit from small Ecuadorian farmers in the future. The capacity is already there, so bulk buyers are welcome to contact us at any time."
Images: Tinofrutas Ltd.
For more information:
Santiago Figueroa
Tinofrutas GmbH
Gymnasiumstr. 34
74196 Neuenstadt am Kocher
Tel.: 07139/5078030
Fax: 07139/ 5078030
Email: info@tinofrutas.de
www.tinofrutas.de