A website dedicated to banana boxes!

I've discovered this very unique personnal website made by a banana box & label collector!

http://www.geocities.com/banana_boxes/

Costa Rica and EU ‘near trade deal’

June 26, 2009 - fruitnet.com

Costa Rica and the European Union are reportedly close to finalising the terms of an agreement of association, under which Europe is said to have offered to ... read more...

Tough conditions will "put the brakes" on Filipino banana imports

June 26, 2009 - abc.rural.net

The final report of recommendations to the Senate regarding the importation of Cavendish bananas from the Philippines have been tabled in Federal Parliament. A Senate committee has recommended that a permit should not be granted until risk management measures and workplans are independently scrutinised. ... read more...

India: Gujarat begins banana exports; ships 1,430 tonnes in April-June

June 26, 2009 - The Hindu

Gujarat, one the major banana growing states, has shipped 1,430 tonnes of the fruit to the Middle East in the first three months of this fiscal, becoming only the second state to export banana after Kerala."Till now 143 containers have been exported. Each container has about 10 tonnes of G9 banana variety," a Gujarat Agro Industries Corporation official told PTI ... reade more...

Chiquita says Eastwind bankruptcy won't slow banana flow

June 24, 2009 - Marine Log
Banana lovers can relax. Chiquita Brands International, Inc. (NYSE: CQB) today announced that it does not expect the bankruptcy filing by Eastwind Maritime Inc. and certain of its affiliates to adversely affect service to Chiquita's customers and the delivery of its bananas and other fresh fruit product ... reade more...

Dole aiming to overturn pesticide rulings

June 25, 2009 - fruitnet.com

A recent judge's verdict that lawsuits against Dole by Nicaraguan workers were fraudulent could lead to a chain of events affecting US$2bn worth of rulings back to 2002 ... read more...

North American banana sales holding strong with consumer move to 'basics'

June 24, 2009 - The Produce News

Reflecting the world economy, the global banana marketing situation is complex as it is described by Juan Alarcon, the chief executive officer of Turbana Corp. in Coral Gables, FL. When the view of banana markets is narrowed to North America, ... read more...

Following the latest import data has never been easier!

by David Ivanovic

I have added on the site a very interesting small tool that will keep you updated on the imports of the 2 main markets, namely the USA and the European Union.

Comments? Get in touch with me.

India: Banana boom in state's sugar bowl

June 23, 2009 - The Economic Times

As the uncertainty over sugarcane prices plays havoc with growers, an increasing number of farmers in the state’s sugar bowl of western Maharashtra are turning to banana plantation since it offers more consistent returns. Maharashtra is the country’s leader in banana production with an estimated 87,000 hectare area under cultivation. The Union government has declared eight districts in ... read more...

EUROPE - Banana survey week 25

Week 25 - ASOCIACION DE EXPORTADORES DE BANANO DEL ECUADOR A.E.B.E.

The fall in prices has intensified, and the balance of certain markets has begun to weaken. The overall supply is still relatively moderate, and ... read more...

Kenya: Farmers count losses as disease threatens to wipe out bananas

June 18, 2009 - Daily Nation

Banana production has been main source of income to Christopher Okwiri and other farmers in Western Kenya. But the investment faces a bleak future following an outbreak of a disease that is threatening to wipe out the crop. The attack by Xanthomonas wilt has resulted in ... read more...

Spain, France and Portugal uneasy over any EU banana deal

June 19, 2009 - France 24

Three European banana producers -- France, Spain and Portugal -- said Friday they would not accept any EU-negotiated agreement that threatened their production. France produces bananas in its Caribbean territories, Spain in its Canary Islands in the Atlantic and Portugal in ... read more...

Ecuador exports more bananas in 2009

fructidor.com - June 19, 2009

In the first five months of this year the leading world exporter of banana shipped abroad 3% more bananas and value of shipped goods was 9% profits more than in the same period of time in year 2008. Ecuador exported between January and May around 2,2 mln of bananas and it was 3,12% more than in the same period of time a year ago.
Value of shipped products rose 8,8% from US$736 mln to US$801mln.

EAST AFRICA: Banana blight puts livelihoods at risk

KAMPALA-NAIROBI, 17 June 2009 (IRIN) - The bacterial banana Xanthomonas wilt (BXW) disease will endanger the livelihoods of millions of East African farmers if left uncontrolled, according to specialists. First reported about 40 years ago in Ethiopia, BXW is endemic in most of Uganda, and has been reported in Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Kenya and Rwanda. “BXW is the most serious threat to banana production in East Africa ... read more...

Del Monte plots Brazil banana move

by fruitnet.com - June 12, 2009

The multinational is considering shifting production from Rio Grande do Norte to Ceará, according to local press reports. Fresh Del Monte is set to invest up to ... read more...

EU Banana Imports: Latin America Stronger than Ever!

by David Ivanovic – June 16, 2009

Impressive Eurostat numbers, at least for your humble “data cruncher”, are showing no signs of slowing down in the European banana business. In 2008, 4.6 million tons have been imported by the EU15 countries; import volumes (from non-European origins) have grown by more than 36% between 2004 and 2008. The banana “oligarchy” (70% of total imports controlled by Colombia, Ecuador and Costa Rica) continues to maintain and increase its presence, and European demand shows no sign of wading.

As Colombian shipments arrived at a rate of 17% annually (!), volumes from West Africa (Cameroon and Cote d’Ivoire) have rebounded in 2008, surpassing for the first time the levels recorded five years ago. 

Maersk Launches Banana Service

On June 1, 2009 Maersk Line launched the Ecuador Banana Express (ECUBEX) Maersk Line has set up an additional service between Ecuador and North Europe with a call in Guayaquil in response to the growing needs of banana shippers, the company said in a statement. A direct service from Guayaquil to Rotterdam takes 15 days and to Bremerhaven 17 days without a transshipment.

Source: seanews.info

Publication date: 6/11/2009

Import Evolution between 1999 and 2008 in the USA

by David Ivanovic

Banana shipments in 2008 were at a similar level as the previous year, however still higher than the volumes imported since 2001. Imports represented close to 4 million metric tonnes in 2008, and the CIF value amounted close to US$1.3 billion.

Guatemala, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Honduras and Colombia controlled together 97% of all banana imports.

Philippines: Banana industry helps cushion impact of global crisis

The banana industry has kept the employment rate remain high during the first five months this year in the Davao Region, said Labor and Employment Regional Director Jalilo O. dela Torre.

Dela Torre said that based on the data in his office, during the first five months of the year there were only 1,154 employees displaced, many of them from the mining industry and the services sector. The number was even lower compared with the same period last year when there were 3,297 employees who lost their jobs.

Admitting the comparison can hardly be explained considering that the global economic crisis started hitting the region in October last year, dela Torre’s theory was that the increase in the number of employees in the banana industry has helped in cushioning the impact of the economic problem.

At present, dela Torre said the industry has about 100,000 regular workers, although he could not recall how many of these employees were lately absorbed the industry.

He said some banana company officials told them that their companies have gone into expansion, thereby needing more employees. He said one of these officials even told him that his company has even planned to expand in other areas within Asia.

The region, based on a January 2009 figure, had a 5.8% unemployment rate, atlhough Mr. dela Torre expected the figure to go a bit higher when those who graduated from colleges start registering in the coming days.

Last month, Gil M. Dureza, chief of the Board of Investments in Southern and Central Mindanao, said that a banana company is looking for a 4,000-hectare farm for its banana expansion project, although he did not name the company.

Anthony B. Sasin, spokesperson of the Pilipino Banana Growers and Exporters Association, said the banana industry has remained vibrant despite the challenges that it has been facing as employment has been sustained.

Sasin explained that for every person directly employed by a banana company, there are eight others who get employed in the industry’s allied services. “So you can imagine how big the banana industry employment is,” he told the TIMES in a telephone interview, pointing out that among these allied services are trucking, arrastre and other related services.

Sasin also confirmed that some big companies have started expanding in Indonesia because of the problem that they are facing in Mindanao, particularly on securing more farms and the continued fight against those pushing for aerial spraying.

“It is very hard to expand now considering that a company will always face difficulty in negotiating for more farms. One problem is the implementation of the CARP (Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program) because a company now needs to negotiate with the cooperative (of agrarian beneficiaries) before they are allowed to expand,” Sasin said.

The problem, he added, is coupled with the continued plan of some groups of imposing a ban on aerial spraying.

Last year, the city government passed an ordinance imposing a ban on aerial spraying, but the banana group questioned the ordinance before the courts. Early this year, the Court of Appeals junked the ordinance because of unconstitutionality, but the city government and those calling for the ban have asked the CA to reverse its ruling.

Lately, a team of researchers released the result of its 2006 study on Camocaan, a village near a banana farm in Hagonoy, Davao del Sur which concluded that there was a need to ban the aerial spraying. But experts commissioned by the banana group questioned the result of the study, saying there was no strong proof that could become the basis for concluding that the ban on aerial spraying be implemented.

The experts of the banana group also questioned the methods used in the research and concluded that the study had a lot of flaws. The group as well as the association of agro-chemical companies have asked the Department of Health, which commissioned the study, to order for an independent peer review of the study.


Source: mindanaotimes.com.ph


Publication date: 6/3/2009

AU: Company designs banana harvester

An Australian company says it's developed a mechanical banana harvester which could revolutionise the industry.

Bananas are one of the more labour intensive crops to harvest, with the fruit easily damaged if not handled with care.

Papyrus Australia is working on developing paper from banana plants, and now the company's Grant Pigot says it's created a harvester which can collect both the fruit and the fibrous trunk.

"Ultimately, this technology can be used to harvest banana fruit, in a very cost-effective way and ultimately meet the aim of the banana farmer, which is to bring their fruit back to the packing shed as quickly as possible and as cheaply as they can, and without any damage to the fruit itself," he says.


Source: abc.net.au

Publication date: 5/11/2009

Mexico: Exports of banana to Europe are stopped

The contingencies led producers of the state to stop sending shipments of 200 tons, which weakened its price ...

Banana exports to Europe have dropped by half as a result of health alerts by the influenza type A H1N1, and that although there was no restriction on agricultural production in Mexico, buyers applied cautiousness because of the nervousness which was extended in the world population by the outbreak which was reported from this country. This was admitted by the producers, primarily the association of Plantain producers in the Sierra.

The precise reduction was of 10 containers, 5 per week, and since each carries 20 tons, the fall is of 200 to 100 tons in frequency of designated shipments.

The reduction was only reported for the previous two weeks, which were some of the worst registered for the swine influenza epidemic.

At the same time, the price of the fruit in the country began to decline, after reaching a record price of 140 pesos per box of 18 and a half kilograms, it is now at the beginning of this week at 100 pesos in wholesale prices in the Central de Abasto in the capital of the state.

In March, the leader of the banana producers of Teape and president of the Mexican Council of Foreign Trade (Comce), Adrián Prats Leal, reported that the crop was at levels 40 percent below the average production of the year.

According to what was stated by Adrián Prats Leal, exports were released at a rate of 15 to 20 containers per week, with a capacity of a thousand boxes per each container, which meant 20 tons each, and 400 tons per week. But with the arrival of the virus, the rise in the dispatch of shipments via boat collapsed.

State production

According to data from the producers in the region of the Sierra there are about 7 thousand hectares, of which each hectare produces about 500 boxes of plantain a year, resulting in a production of over 600 thousand cases per year just over 50 thousand per month.

It is noteworthy to mention that last year; Tabasco plantain production was hampered by 200 thousand hectares, due to the rising of the rivers, which represented a loss of about 8 million pesos.

Source: Tabasco Hoy

Publication date: 5/19/2009

Protectors of banana bunches in polyethylene.

SupraLive S.A. makes innovation in the protection of bananas


Delia Zigüenza, Marlon Benquimella and Paulo Benquimella, discuss product developments and expectations for the future of this promising business.

Delia Zigüenza commented on products that were presented at the International Forum of Bananas and Fresh Fruits in Guayaquil - Ecuador. The covers for bananas and polyethylene protectors for clusters caused a great impression at the show, given its innovation, especially the expanded polyethylene protectors for the banana cluster which is a novelty in the sector and it is dramatically increasing its market share mainly in Ecuador, but SupraLife is already reaching into the Central American market.

Mr. Marco Benquimella noted that the product has generated substantial savings and profits for subsequent producers / exporters of bananas. The product is made in low-density polyethylene (foamed-expanded) with a complex process with large benefits for the users of the product.

Mr. Paulo Benquimella highlighted significant savings in manpower since there is no need to replace it several times. The protector is placed when the cluster is two weeks old and re-used during the harvest. Therefore the process becomes very fast, very agile. The fact that the company also has 50 years of industry experience is testimony of the benefits of the protector. The product has the producer's needs and expectations of an industry in mind, which gives greater assurance in its use.


Contact:

Delia Sigüenza Rojas / Marlon Vintimilla Sigüenza
SUPRALIVE
Samborondón Business Center
Torre B Of. 304
Tel: 04 283 9105
www.supralive.com.ec
delia.siguenza@supralive.com.ec
marlon.vintimilla@supralive.com.ec

Publication date: 5/27/2009

Colombian banana workers end strike

On May 20 some 17,500 banana workers in Colombia’s northwestern Urabá region ended a strike they began on May 8 over pay and benefits. The workers won an 8% wage hike for the first year of the two-year contract and a cost-of-living adjustment for the next year; this is based on the Consumer Price Index (IPC in Spanish), which is expected to rise by 5% or less this year. The strikers also won benefits including funds for housing, recreation and culture, a bonus, and pay for the days lost to the strike. The banana workers were seeking a 9.2% wage increase the first year and the IPC adjustment plus 2% for the second year, along with other benefits and the creation of a fund to pay reparations to relatives of the victims of violence in Urabá. The owners had originally sought a five-year contract. Gilberto Torres, a spokesperson for the National Union of Agricultural Industry Workers (SINTRAINAGRO), said the union’s members “received the agreement very well.”

The owners lost about $30 million during the 12-day strike; normally they would have shipped some 3.7 million cases during the period. Colombia is the world’s third largest banana exporter, after Ecuador and Costa Rica, with most exports going to Europe and the US. About 75% of Urabá’s economy depends on the industry, which employs some 19,500 workers at 296 plantations.

SINTRAINAGRO officials say more than 800 farmworkers have been killed in Urabá over the past 13 years, mostly by rightwing paramilitaries hired by growers to stop labor organizing. During the job action the union charged that the owners tried to bring in strikebreakers even though the strike was recognized by the Social Protection Ministry. Union officials also said strikers had received threatening messages.


Source: weeklynewsupdate.blogspot.com

Publication date: 5/27/2009

African states seek 500 mln euros in EU banana deal

Africa's top banana export countries sought on Friday 500 million euros ($694 million) in compensation from the European Union as part of a deal to end the world's longest-running trade dispute.

Talks drag on at the World Trade Organisation in Geneva between the EU and Latin America's leading banana suppliers aimed at reducing import tariffs and end the "banana wars" that have dragged on since the 1990s.

As part of the pact, Brussels must find a package of financial aid for rival banana-producing African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries to compensate them for possible losses to their industry and ease any socio-economic hardships that the liberalisation would mean for some of its former colonies. But ACP producers -- which have for years enjoyed duty-free access to the lucrative European market -- told EU ministers at talks on Friday in Brussels that the 27-nation bloc's latest offer, estimated to be around 100 million euros, is not enough.

"An update on the ACP's support needs ... indicates that an envelope of close to 500 million euros would be required to avoid social turmoil and political instability in the ACP countries concerned," a statement prepared by the ACP delegation for the ministerial meeting said.

The European Commission -- which oversees trade policy for the EU -- has proposed gradually lowering taxes on banana imports from Latin American countries to 114 euros per tonne by 2016 from 176 euros now.

But ACP producers such as Cameroon and Ivory Coast, want smaller tariff cuts over a longer period, the declaration obtained by Reuters showed.

SWAMPED

They say Europe will become even more swamped by cheaper fruit from Latin America, which already supplies some 80 percent of EU banana imports, to the detriment of former colonies of Britain, France and Portugal.

"ACP countries will immediately suffer drastic losses which would also have to be compensated for immediately," they argued.

European Commission officials say they hope to conclude a deal with all parties soon.

"We have noted that the EU has indicated that discussions are almost at an end with the MFN suppliers (Latin American countries) and the U.S., with who it intends to sign a final deal by the end of June 2009," the ACP statement said.

Ecuador, the world's largest exporter of bananas, has led pressure from Latin America for the EU to stick to the tariff deal negotiated in July 2008 on the sidelines of a Geneva meeting seeking a breakthrough in the Doha round of wider World Trade Organisation (WTO) talks.

Three of the world's biggest distributors, Chiquita Brands International, Del Monte Foods and Dole Co., have Latin American plantations.

When the WTO talks collapsed in July 2008, the EU walked away, saying the banana deal had to be part of a general Doha agreement.

But, having won a string of WTO cases on the issue against Brussels, the Latin Americans insist that bananas should be included in a separate pact.

ACP countries have argued that any agreement on bananas should form part of a wider Doha deal -- an arrangement that would give them added leverage in the discussion because they could threaten to block Doha.

Source: forexpros.com

Publication date: 6/2/2009

AU: New blemished bananas unveiled in Perth

New bunches of Carnarvon bananas have hit WA shelves and while the fruit might not look as pretty as blemish-free counterparts, growers say it tastes as good and costs less.

Big WA banana co-operative Sweeter Bananas says it is a breakthrough for a major supermarket to sell marked produce.

Coles will unveil the newly branded Smoothies bananas in Claremont today and grower Catriona Nixon said it was promising for good fruit and vegetables not to be judged solely on appearance but on eating quality.

In the past, supermarkets were unwilling to accept wonderful tasting fruit with any marks, she said.

Because Carnarvon bananas are grown in a sub-tropical environment, the trees are closer together to help trap and store heat. As a result, leaves from neighbouring trees can mark the skin of the fruit.

Mrs Nixon said 20 to 50 per cent of bananas on some plantations could be marked. Growers tried to sell them through smaller retailers but some were wasted.

Agriculture and Food Minister Terry Redman said consumers were putting a higher priority on WA food.


Source: thewest.com.au

Publication date: 6/2/2009

Ecuadorian Tropical Produce Shipper Refin S.A., acitvely involved with plantains

Ecuador, REFIN S.A. is one of the most complete tropical produce shippers of the country. REFIN started operating 10 years ago dealing mainly with mangos, and afterwards their export program was expanded to other products such as Limes, Plantains, Malanga, Yuca, among others.

REFINS top quality Plantains marketed usually under the “Lucy’s” label as well as under other private labels, are present in the US market. According to Mr. Bernardo Malo, CEO of the Company, the key to success upon dealing with tropical produce depends on the emphasis that you put into quality controls. Our Plantains follow very demanding quality control procedures in order to meet with our customer’s standards says Mr. Malo.

Ecuador is widely recognized for its quality in regards to tropical produce which obviously includes Plantains.

The company is presently exploring a couple of possibilities focusing as well on the European market. More information is available at www.refintropicals.com . Mr. Bernardo Malo can be contacted at either bmalo@gye.satnet.net or refinsa@gye.satnet.net.


Publication date: 6/2/2009