Recovery of banana prices in the Canary Islands

After a challenging period during 2023 and early 2024, where banana prices in the Canary Islands did not allow producers to cover their production costs, even with a subsidy of 0.30 euros per kilo, the situation began to improve markedly from the last week of March this year.

 

This unfavourable scenario had been caused by overproduction on the islands, a drop in demand from external markets and strong competition with bananas.

 

The Association of Banana Producers of the Canary Islands (Asprocan) reported a withdrawal from the market of 26.5 million kilos of fruit in 2023, the second highest figure ever recorded, in addition to 34 million exported to Morocco, resulting in a record annual production of 467 million kilos. Of this amount, 388 million were sold on the mainland, 44.2 million in the Canary Islands and just one million in the rest of Europe.

 

From week 13 of 2024 onwards, an increase in prices was observed that has benefited Canary Island farmers. This positive trend continued until week 20, driven by a reduction in the volume shipped to the mainland, a decrease in the presence of bananas during certain periods of the year and a stronger demand in months that traditionally record high consumption.

The increase in prices to Canary Islands producers became evident towards the end of March, with average prices exceeding 0.85 euros per kilo and reaching up to 1.20 euros per kilo for the extra-primary category. These prices allow producers to make a direct profit from their sales abroad, without the need to add the EU subsidy.

 

Before this improvement, Canary Islands producers had endured almost 15 months of low prices that were not enough to cover production costs, even with financial support from the EU. The recovery began to take shape in week 11 of 2024, with an average increase of ten cents per kilo, favoured by a shortage of bananas on the mainland and in Europe, which boosted Canary Island banana prices.