Pineapple monthly review: March 2022

In March, shipping delays and logistical difficulties contributed, as they already had done in February, to heavily disrupting the European pineapple market supply. The ongoing Costa Rican melon campaign considerably limited container availability for pineapple growers, who throughout the month struggled to export their fruit. We should note that the bad weather (cold and rains) in Costa Rica also contributed to reducing the supply of coloured and crownless fruit, subject to stricter quality criteria in terms of Brix content. The market was giving an impression of under-supply, since without being exceptionally high, demand nonetheless remained well in excess of incoming volumes. With the exception of the size 5, all the sizes were lacking. The closure of the Russian market led to this fruit being transferred onto markets with usually little demand for this size.

Overall, the air-freight pineapple market was buoyant throughout the month. The paucity of the overall supply, across all varieties, enabled the market to remain highly fluid. The Cayenne supply remained very small, with the fruit coming mainly from Cameroon. Demand was particularly high for Sugarloaf, which was scarce in both its green and coloured form. The lively demand helped improve green fruit sales, although coloured fruit was more sought-after. There was a limited supply and also fluid sales for the Sweet batches on the market, with Latin American fruit continuing to earn better value than its Ghanaian counterpart.

The overall Victoria supply from the Indian Ocean remained limited, as a consequence of the cyclone season. Fruit from Reunion, less available and more sought-after, sold very well, especially sizes 6 and 7.

pineapple - france - import prices - March 2022