Major discount retailer Aldi has reportedly abandoned the practice of publishing its banana price, which in recent years has effectively been a reference price for the category on the European market.
According to a number of industry sources, the company decided to stop making its banana price public in order to distance itself from the market and limit the amount of information available to its competitors.
Aldi's price, which is set weekly and is considered by the industry as a benchmark figure on which basis others prices are determined, is seen very much as a barometer of market strength in the European banana trade.
'No-one has a reference for bananas now,' one leading importer told Eurofruit. 'The likes of Chiquita, Fyffes and Dole won't know how to price them because no-one has that point of reference.'
Key value item
With discounters across Europe competing hard for market share, bananas are seen by such companies as very much a 'key value item' which can attract shoppers.
According to a recent report published by the European Commission, Aldi's banana price was 3.9 per cent lower last year than it was in 2009, reflecting an overall downturn in pricing.
Although down significantly on the previous year – Aldi's average price for bananas was €0.74/kg compared with €0.77/kg in 2009 – it remained at the same level as 2008 and above the average figures recorded for 2006 and 2007.
However, according to preliminary figures, wholesale banana prices during the first four months of 2011 have been much higher (32 per cent up year on year) compared with the same period of 2010.
'This very good result is notably due to a relatively low crop and the economic recovery in 2011,' the report stated.
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