Global food giant Chiquita Brands International has declared the banana “recession resistant” after analysing its 2008 results.
The company launched new business ventures in Africa and China last year and is confident these investments will prove healthy despite current economic conditions.
Fernando Aguirre, Chiquita chief executive, said: “Bananas are a staple and a great value compared with other food items. A banana sells on average for only 30 cents (20p). Nowhere else in the grocery store can consumers find such a great value.”
Analyst Heather Jones of Capital Markets said: “Banana demand should also benefit from higher food-at-home consumption as its exposure to retail is meaningfully higher than its exposure to food service.”
Another analyst, Dean Haskell of Morgan Joseph, predicted long-term profit growth from a new banana-sourcing deal in Africa, announced by Chiquita in March. The deal established relationships with companies that represent private growers in Angola and Mozambique, committing Chiquita to buy up to 30 per cent of its European volume from Africa.
Chiquita chief financial officer Jeffrey Zalla said the deal has benefits beyond tariff avoidance. “We believe that African supply will be high-quality and will be cost-effective even if there is a significant reduction in the European tariff that applies to Latin fruit,” Zalla said.
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