Despite prices being at record lows, banana sales plummeted in the four weeks to April 23.
The latest war being waged by the big four retailers saw prices of loose bananas slashed by 24.7 per cent - to 64p a kilo - in the last week of March.
TNS data shows that in the four following weeks, volume sales dropped by 7.1 per cent, expenditure fell by 23.9 per cent and consumer penetration crashed 10 per cent.
An estimated £7 million of value was wiped off the category as a whole in the period, which represents a 13.9 per cent value decrease year-on-year. Although prepacked sales held up better despite similar price cuts, they could not stop the overall volume drop of 4.5 per cent.
No supermarket made any discernible climb in the market share league table compared to the previous four weeks. All lost turnover in the period and Asda, which led the cull, has gained nothing and wiped almost £1m off its turnover in the process.
The staggering figures back up industry insiders who have long claimed there is no correlation between sales volumes and price in the banana category. The late Easter holidays and, to a degree, poor weather, would have had an effect on sales, but, say suppliers, there is little doubt that the price cuts have affected sales.
