Philippines: Banana yields dropping

Business World, 17 Mar 2010 - "Aside from water conservation and installation of irrigation system, we are just praying for divine intervention," Stephen A. Antig, president of the Pilipino Banana Growers and Exporters Association, said in an interview here yesterday. He said his own company even encouraged daily rosaries among workers as the industry is already at the end of its ropes to lessen the impact of the dry spell.

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EU Adopts Support Package for Banana Exporters from African, Caribbean and Pacific States

FlexNews, 17 March 2010 - Today, the Commission adopted a Euro 190 million support package for banana exporters from African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) states. This proposal was part of the historic Geneva Agreement on Trade in Bananas.

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Dole Food Q4 profit up, amends credit facilities

Reuters - 2 Feb 2010

Dole Food Co Inc's (DOLE.N) fourth-quarter profit before taxes and interest jumped 49 percent, and the fruit and vegetable producer said it sold three manufacturing plants in Latin America to pay down debt. ... read more...

Jamaica: Disease hits banana sector

The Gleaner - 2 Feb 2010

Agriculture officials have confirmed that black sigatoka, a dangerous fungal disease, has been discovered in St Lucia and threatens the struggling banana industry ... read more...

EU: Agreement Takes Bananas out of Tropical Products Debate

ICTSD - Feb 2010

On 15 December, the European Union announced that agreement had at long last been reached with Latin American banana exporters on tariff cuts, thus signalling an end to the WTO’s most protracted dispute. A broader deal on the treatment of tropical products, however, remains controversial. ... read more...

Europe - Banana survey week 4

CIRAD

The balance of the North European markets seems to be strengthening. The improving demand trend has continued in Germany and France, and extended to the United Kingdom. Hence, thanks to growing demand while imports from dollar sources have remained moderate, prices have been revised upward in Germany and the United Kingdom. In France, despite higher import levels and export demand slowing down, the dynamism of local demand has helped strengthen prices.

However, the situation on the Southern markets has continued to be very difficult. Demand has remained flat in the face of increasing supply levels in both Italy and Spain. In Eastern Europe, the situation has significantly deteriorated due to the very low temperatures, which have adversely affected demand and disrupted logistics.

In Russia, due to a slight rise in imports and the very cold temperatures there too, the market has weakened.

Philippines: Expert: Aerial spraying in bananas in Mindanao meets international standards

BusinessMirror - 28 Jan 2010

“How you should spray the target and keep the pesticide on the banana crop is the purpose of spraying in the first place. We then looked to the ground sprayer; it would spray closer to the homes that people live. And I believe that --- ... read more...

Prices of bananas, tea soar in Britain

expressbuzz - 21 Jan 2010

Last month bananas were 22.9 per cent more expensive than in December 2008, while the cost of a box of tea bags had increased by almost five per cent over the same period.The price of bananas – the biggest selling food item in UK supermarkets – was subtly increased by retailers who reset prices to a higher level following a ... read more...

USA: Dole Launches Banana Diet Promotion

Dole Food Company - 4 Jan 2010

Dole Fresh Fruit Company, a subsidiary of Dole Food Company, Inc., has announced the launch of a new promotion to draw awareness towards the health and weight loss benefits of the new DOLE Banana Diet. Decades of nutrition research validate the idea that increasing consumption of fruit and vegetables in general, and bananas in particular, can help support healthy, sustainable weight loss. Bananas are ... read more...

Europe - Banana survey week 3

AEBE - 22 Jan 2010

The Northern European markets seem to be rebalancing. On the one hand, supply levels from the French West Indies and Africa have been higher. However, shipments from dollar sources have been more moderate (light loads from Costa Rica due to the rains in weeks 1 and 2), and there has been better distribution of trade-offs ... read more...