Following its recent acquisition of US banana group Chiquita, Brazil's Cutrale-Safra has made further news this week with the announcement that it is changing the banana brand's port of entry into Europe.
Instead of unloading at Belgium New Fruit Wharf (BNFW) in Antwerp, as Chiquita bananas have done for the past 33 years, they will now unload at Kloosterboer in Vlissingen, according to Franklin Ginus, director of Chiquita Benelux.
Ginus said that the offer from Kloosterboer was irresistible in terms of price, speed of handling and sustainable management of the port.
As for BNFW, the group's Johan Claes admitted Chiquita's disappearance would be felt, with the port set to lose approximately 20 per cent of its yearly throughput of bananas, be that around 170,000 tonnes.
'Chiquita is fortunately one of our smaller banana customers,' he told De Tijd. 'The brand lost market share in recent years in Europe. But one ship per week, accounting for 170m kg of bananas a year, we will naturally feel.'
