While banana prices on the wholesale markets have risen tentatively following the four-pronged attack of hurricanes Charley, Frances, Ivan and Jeanne, any longer-term uplift at the supermarkets may well be the stuff of dreams.
Prices have been climbing steadily week-on-week for the past three weeks by about 50p for a 40lb bushel at London and provincial markets. This week values ranged from 900p for 18kg on Western International for dollar fruit to 900-1100p on Birmingham, 950p on New Covent Garden and 1000-1100p on Glasgow market.
It is not just the effects of the hurricanes, but also Latin American strike action that appear to have combined to push prices higher.
But at the supermarkets, and for Windward Islands fruit, it is a different story. “Our main focus is on the supermarkets and there have been no price increases there,” said Roy Hughes of Wibdeco. “If the prices have risen slightly because of the hurricane impact on the Dominican Republic and Jamaica, I expect they will fall again.”
JP - potentially the hardest hit of the UK suppliers sourcing as it does significant volumes from Jamaica - has moved swiftly to ensure customer requirements are covered from other sources such as Costa Rica and Cameroon.
“I can’t see the supermarkets changing their strategy,” said Dickon Poole. “It is a much wider issue than that and we are still looking at 30 per cent price deflation on bananas.”
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