Canary Islands’ banana producers will make their first shipment of fruit to Germany in January as part of a wider campaign to increase the sector’s exports beyond Spain’s borders over the next three years.
Initial volumes of Canaries-produced bananas are expected to arrive in Berlin this month, with further shipments set to reach other German cities over the coming weeks, Henry Sicilia Hernández, president of agricultural association Asaga, told Spanish daily El Día.
With the islands’ traditional Spanish domestic market share increasingly under threat from overseas imports following the relaxation of the EU banana import tariff regime, Canaries producers have set their sights on entering some of Europe’s largest markets, backed by funding from the EU.
Under the auspices of the European Union’s Posei programme for Europe’s outlying regions, Canaries bananas, among other products, will be promoted in several European markets over the next three years.
With a budget of €3m, 25 per cent of which will be provided by Canaries producers, the fruit will be promoted in several EU countries, including Germany, France, Portugal, Belgium and Spain.
