Banana selling prices in St Petersburg were USD 20.40-22.60 per box CIF according to brand, quality, packing, and volume. Demand for the fruit was weak due to very low temperatures -25 to -30 degrees C - which mainly affected street sales and discharge operations in the port of St. Petersburg. The long holiday period, which extends to Jan 8, is also among the causes of the drop in sales.

Nearly 2.37 million boxes were discharged in week one, and around 2.13 million are expected for week 2.

The exchange rate was 1 USD=91,37 RUB.

Selling prices in the Mediterranean were USD 18.00-20.00 per box CIF for the Ecuadorian bananas according to brand, volume, region, and packing. Bananas from Central America were sold at around USD 2.00 per box.

At the Mersin Free Zone prices for re-exported Ecuadorian bananas were USD 18.50-20.00 with peaks of USD 21.00 per box according to brand, quality, volume, and weight and USD 15.50-16.00 per box for Central American or Colombian origin.

There were rumours that discharge operations and delivery of goods were delayed by the finding of narcotics in some containers. The exchange rate was 1 USD=29.76 TL.

Prices in the Iranian domestic market improved slightly compared to the previous week; the price for Ecuadorian bananas was 68.000-72.000 Toman per kg, around 47.000-51.000 Toman per kg for Indian bananas and about 58.000-60.000 Toman per kg for bananas from the Philippines. Volumes of available Ecuadorian bananas were probably around 10% of the total, and consumers mainly bought Pakistani or Indian bananas because they were more affordable.

The 13.50 kg box of Indian bananas sold at around USD 9.50-10.0 C&F Bandar Abbas.

The Specialised Reefer Vessel Cala Portese is expected to discharge around 218.000 banana boxes from Davao at Bushehr on January 7.

The exchange rate was 1 USD=510.000-515.000 IRR or 51.000-51.500 Toman.

The average prices in the Ecuadorian Spot Market were USD 8.00-9.00 per box for the fruit. Still, they ranged from USD 7.50 to USD 10.50 per box during the week due to the scarce volumes of fruit available. There was competition among some exporters to complete their quantities on the cut-off for the containers or before the departure of the Specialised Reefer Vessels of the liner services to Europe and Russia.

There were no reports of banana fixtures during the week. Several vessels were taken on Time Charter to be employed by Owners and operators in their seasonal trades or due to the longer trips to destinations in Russia or elsewhere, circumnavigating Southern America via Magellan Strait instead of passing through the Panama Canal. Some vessels were fixed for the fish trade, and some more were reported to be proceeding to the fishing grounds of the Southern Atlantic.

The Time Charter rates were US Cents 60-65 per box, per month for larger vessels and almost the same rates for smaller ships.

Bunker prices:       

                              VLSFO                    MGO       

Gibraltar                $619.50                 $835.00 

Rotterdam             $563.50                 $750.00 

Panama Canal      $588.00                 $962.00