Growers from the Canary Islands expect to avoid the recession with an expansion of their exports towards the German market. The challenge is to improve the fruit's poor image.
They are not looking for financial support from Europe's largest economy, but rather to promote the fruit and turn it into a favourite with the population, just like they did in Spain.
The Association of Canary Plantain Producer Organizations (Asprocan) explained that the German market is still mostly a client of Latin American bananas. "The most popular company barely sells 40% of the total," confirm sources from Asprocan, adding that "in Spain, and not necessarily in the Canary Islands, three out of four plantains purchased come from the Archipelago."
The objective of the islanders is not to reach this outstanding market share, but at the very least to "make a place for themselves" in the market. This has already sparked several promotion campaigns, like last winter, when the fruit's image was displayed on 'guagua' buses, or when they took part in Germany's Fruit Logistica Fair. The biggest hurdle that Canary plantains must overcome to sneak into German households is something as simple, and yet so important, as the product's image.
"People do not buy a product if it does not look right, and in the case of Canary plantains, Europeans still associate the characteristic black spots of the fruit with a sign of low quality," assure sources from the association of producers.
Source: Laopinion