The price of bananas, the second most consumed fruit in France, is expected to increase by around 20% in 2023 with the rise in the cost of fertilizers, maritime transport and soon electricity, its interprofession warned on Thursday.
All the production costs of this
“entry-level”
fruit , which sells for around 99 cents per kilogram at the first price, soared between 2021 and 2022, noted Philippe Pons, president of the Interprofessional Banana Association (AIB). ).
Starting with fertilizers, produced massively in Russia, which according to him cost twice as much for planters.
The price of maritime freight but also of the cardboard to pack the fruit has
“jumped by 30%”
.
“All the companies in the sector have seen their net margin collapse
,” he summed up.
Added to this is a decline in global supply, due in part to the vagaries of the weather in Central America, and soaring energy costs.
Without effort from large retailers and without state support, the price of bananas should therefore increase
“by around 20%”
in 2023 on the shelves, estimated Philippe Pons.
The sector will have to
“find a balance between the survival of companies and acceptable prices for the consumer”
, because the banana is one of the low-priced products towards which it turns in times of inflation.
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There is already
“a strong demand for the first prices
”, underlined Eric Fontaine, manager of the Fruidor ripener site in Rungis, the largest wholesale and fresh produce market in the world located south of Paris.
The sector also fears potential power cuts during the winter, which would be catastrophic for its hundred ripening rooms, located in large hangars all over France and in particular at Rungis.
Supervised process
When they get off the boat, these tropical fruits spend five days in these warehouses where the temperature is strictly controlled - between 13 and 17°C.
After a process that allows all the bananas in a bunch to ripen evenly, they are delivered to supermarkets.
If the ventilation of the ripening rooms is interrupted for several hours,
"it's the death of the banana"
, warns Eric Fontaine.
In addition, a quarter of them will have to renew their energy contract in January, while the prices of new offers have been multiplied by two or four, according to Philippe Pons.
80 million
"dessert"
bananas - as opposed to plantains - are produced worldwide each year.
France consumes 700,000 tonnes annually.
