Banana monthly review: January 2024

The banana supply this January was overall bigger than in 2022 and 2023. The cumulative dollar banana volumes from Ecuador, Colombia and Costa Rica were greater than for the last two years, due to the improved weather conditions on the production sites. The same observation could be made for Africa, with import volumes from Côte d’Ivoire, Cameroon and Ghana 10 % above average for the season, especially thanks to new plantations and a milder Harmattan this year. Only the supply from the French West Indies remained close to the average for recent years. The supply saw some fluctuations during the month, with more moderate volumes in early January because of smaller shiploads during the end-of-year festive period, and some shipping delays. However, the market was not affected since the stocks in place were able to make up for temporary shortages. 

Demand, though sometimes affected by logistical disruptions such as a cold spell in late January, generally remained quiet and in step with the available supply. In this context import prices were down from December 2023, and 14% lower than in January 2023 according to the CIRAD barometer. This fall could also be explained by the new contract prices taking effect, at lower levels than in previous years. 

Regarding the Spanish market, the crisis continued, with ongoing high pressure from the big surplus volumes from the Canaries. Prices were down at 40% below the two-year average.