"Netherlands: "Little demand for pineapples, reasonable prices"

"The demand for pineapple is at a low level. That is always the case around this period. That is why we have adjusted our incoming shipments. We don't import too much, so we can cope in the normal way. Despite the lower volumes, we are not selling enough. Sometimes you see differences in demand with different clients, but now it is the same with everybody. Supermarkets are also ordering less, it is a general tendency," a Dutch trader tells us.

Prices differ per size. "The sixes are between 8.5 and 9 Euro, and you still get 6.25 for the nines. Although, with these smaller numbers, it should really be higher." Pineapples are coming from Costa Rica at the moment. "We are usually the first priority, but at the moment they are being pushed in Florida (for example), so more are being shipped over there. They also have a lot of tourists, so there is a market."

The export of pineapples is growing in Panama, and it is expected that this will increase considerably in the coming years. The trader says it hasn't affected them much for now. "Their standard price is a euro lower on the market. Naturally you notice they are there, but they are not putting sales under pressure yet."