Banana producers in the Canary Islands have responded to growing complaints that their fruit has become too costly on the Spanish mainland by issuing a detailed explanation of the higher prices in recent weeks.
The response was triggered by media coverage highlighting the gradual rise in prices to levels rarely seen in the rest of Spain. Comparisons posted by one publication earlier this week show that shoppers were regularly being charged 3.70 euros per kilo for bananas from the islands – which enjoy privileged access to the mainland market – compared to their counterparts from Costa Rica, which could be bought for well under half that price (1.50 euros). One newspaper has reported that prices of premium Canarian bananas had reached a staggering 6.99 per kilo in an Alcampo store in Bilbao.
Amid concerns at shoppers voting with their feet and shunning their bananas if the price spiral continues, the islands’ leading producer association, Asprocan, issued a statement saying that it “truly understood the criticism” but said the sector was going through “very difficult times”.
The producers pinpointed the impact of Storm Dorothy last December as a key factor in the hike: “Winds in excess of 130 km/h devastated thousands of banana plantations. We lost crops and suffered power cuts… This led to a fall in production and increased costs”, explained Asprocan on its official social media account, adding that both sides (producers and consumers) have suffered the consequences of the powerful storm. The statement ended with the assurance that the sector is working hard so that the situation will “return to normal” as soon as possible.
Bananas are a key export from the Canaries, with some seven million kilos of the fruit shipped to the mainland every week. Recent surveys show that Spanish consumers have a distinct preference for the smaller and sweeter Canarian fruit, with 87% stating that they prefer it to the South American variety, one reason being the fact that it comes from the Canaries. However, producers here will be naturally concerned that, if the prices remain at their current levels for much longer, that preference may shift.
