Pineapple monthly review: July-August 2021

In July, the Costa Rican Sweet supply was very limited, as a consequence of the end of the natural bloom. Nonetheless, the market conditions remained fairly complicated. With some operators taking a holiday, pineapple demand came undone a little further, switching to seasonal fruits. We should also report numerous storms (in both Northern and Southern counties), which affected pineapple shipments or even purchaser interest in the fruit. The pressure intensified at the end of the month, since the fruit received was fragile, which limited its storage life and forced operators to sell it as quickly as possible. In August, against all expectations, sales were quieter again, although the Costa Rican supply was more limited than in July. The market was struggling to absorb what sparse volumes were available. It is true that the supermarket sector, which normally takes in the vast majority of fruit on the market, was more focused on summer fruits. The weakness of sales led to abundant fruit transfers to the spot market, where batches were offered at prices well below operators’ expectations, given the reduction in the overall Sweet supply.

At the very beginning of July, the air-freight market situation was comparable to June, i.e. complicated. Despite the big reduction in the overall supply, sales were slow since the market was just about lifeless, with scant interest in the pineapple. From the end of the first half-month, it did regain some fluidity. The big reduction in volumes helped the Cayenne and Sweet batches sell more smoothly. Conversely, Sugarloaf sales were more difficult since only coloured fruit seemed to be of interest. In August, the situation deteriorated again, even with the overall supply still just as limited. The busy holiday season and very good presence of seasonal fruits contributed to curbing pineapple demand. The market was more swollen, and quality concerns over certain Cayenne batches, and the magnitude of the Sugarloaf supply in relation to the weak demand, forced operators to occasionally resort to PSPs, to prevent stocks from forming. The paucity of the Sweet supply contributed to strengthening rates of the batches available, and even enabled Ghanaian fruit to return to this market momentarily. 

Throughout the summer, despite the big reduction in the Victoria supply, especially from Reunion, interest in the fruit remained scant, and sales involved only a few batches. It is true that demand was more interested in the summer fruits supply than in small exotics.

pineapple - france - import prices july august 2021