Demand in November was lifeless. The 1st and 11th of November, public holidays on certain markets, made marketing that bit more complicated. Faced with poor sales and increasing stocks, certain operators had to resort to selling their fruits at after-sale prices, though this provided no improvement on the market. So operators heavily reduced their imports, which in the middle of the month helped considerably reduce stocks and halt the price fall. However, given the extremely weak demand, sales remained very quiet, curbing any price rise. At the end of the month, the transit of Hurricane Otto across Costa Rica led to the belief that the supply could be greatly reduced at the end of the year. However, the main production zones were spared, and producers confirmed the magnitude of their volumes in December.
From the beginning of the month, the situation on the air-freight market was fairly tight. The lifeless demand and abundance of the supply forced operators to heavily rein back their imports to regain sales fluidity, which helped the market remain stable. The supplies from Cameroon, Benin and even Côte d’Ivoire had some quality concerns, most often due to rainfall at the production stage. The situation was also difficult for Sugarloafs. These fruits, less and less coloured, struggled to find buyers, though they did maintain a fairly stable price between 1.80 - 2.10 euros/kg.
The Reunion supply, which was large and unbalanced, weighed heavily on the Victoria market. At the beginning of the month, the abundance of small fruits, rather out of favour, forced operators to sell at after-sale prices. The situation improved at the end of the month, thanks in particular to a better size balance and a reduction in the Reunion supply.
In December, the Sweet supply was smaller than predicted. In the first half-month, the fall in the supply was due to the transit of Hurricane Otto, which prevented the week 47 exports, as well as to numerous shipping delays, which limited volumes in week 50. Hence rates were able to stabilise, whereas demand remained fairly lifeless. At the beginning of the second half-month, the arrival of the delayed fruits coincided with a recovery in demand for Christmas. The temporarily bigger supply was nonetheless lower than demand, helping rates strengthen during Christmas week, despite some quality problems. The last week was marked by shrinking demand, causing stocks to form and rates to slump.
In the first half-month, sales were complicated on the air-freight market, since demand was not really interested. The decision by the Beninese authorities, on 15 December, to ban exports of coloured pineapples, as well as concerns over freight availability out of Cameroon, caused a distinct reduction in the supply, which was well below demand. Hence sales were more dynamic in Christmas week. However, just after Christmas, the air-freight market had to face a downturn in demand, forcing several operators to cut back on their imports considerably. Sugarloaf sales remained difficult, between 1.80 and 2.00 euros/kg, with operators struggling to market this previously coloured fruit in the green state.
In December, the Victoria supply saw a steep increase, confirming its festive nature. Sales were fluid and rates fairly high before Christmas. More imbalanced after the festivities, the Reunion supply, comprising small fruits, saw its rates range widen.
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