Russia, Iran seek out Philippine bananas

Fruitnet.com 27 January 2009

Philippine bananas are in great demand from Russia and Iran, where importers are largely unaffected by the global economic crisis

Demand for Philippine bananas in non-traditional export markets Russia and Iran is strengthening despite the global economic crisis, reports the Mindanao Times.

Russian fruit importers are largely unaffected by the recession crippling many of the world’s economies, US-based Russian fruit supplier Double D Trade LLC is quoted as saying. And Russian consumers in metropolitan areas such as St Petersburg, Moscow and Vladivostok actively seek out high-quality bananas from the Philippines, Double D’s Andrei Melnicuic said.

Meanwhile, Iranian importers are pushing for regular weekly shipments of Cavandish bananas from Davao to Iran, according to the Mindanao Times.

"Even the big multinational firms here are already shipping regularly to Iran, but other Iranian traders are trying to get their supply of cheaper bananas from small independent growers for bigger profits," a spokesman for Davao-based export broker Goldelyonn Export Import said.