Thai bananas are coming in at steady supply levels right now.
“They’re coming in from Mexico and everything is normal except for the weather down there,” says Dennis Sever with Exotic Growers, Inc. in Homestead, Fl.“It’s really warm so the bananas are coming in more ripe than green which is the opposite of how they usually arrive. Other than that, their quality is good. I don’t think you can find a bad Thai banana out of Mexico right now. With all of the rain and the hot weather, they’re sizing up nicely.”
Sever estimates that the warm weather has affected the Thai bananas--which are shorter, stockier bananas which are often fried but can also be eaten raw--for about three weeks now and will likely go on to affect them for another three weeks.
“But the volume is the same. We haven’t had any problem with quantities. We take about ½ load to a full load a week and there haven’t been any issues,” says Sever.
Anticipated slower times
Like many fruits, bananas of all kinds tend to take a backseat to summer fruit this time of year. However, supplies of Thai bananas often pick up by the end of October and stay strong until January when Chinese New Year takes place at the end of the month. (Thai bananas are popular with the Asian and Indian populations.)
And similar to the steadiness of supply, the price tends to stay relatively even as well. “It’s always in the low to mid-teens. Only around November, December will it go up until the high teens,” he says, noting though that this year, the price on Thai bananas rose about $2/box four months ago and has held there since.
For more information:
Dennis Sever
Exotic Growers, Inc.
Tel: +1 (305) 393-1556
dennissever@icloud.com