Europlátano Strengthens Its Position in the Polish Market
2024-05-03
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At the end of 2023, Europlátano began discussing introducing the Canary Islands banana into Poland. On January 10, 2024, the first truck was sent directly to Poland, and the bananas were sold that same weekend. After observing the excellent reception of the product, truck shipments were scheduled for four more weeks. Since then and periodically, almost 400,000 kilograms of certified bananas have arrived.
This is a high-quality banana, initially packaged in a biodegradable flow pack; later, the organisation opted for the Gabaceras brand taped banana.
Historically, Europlátano's commercial strategy has intensely focused on foreign export. Over the years, successful projects have been developed in profitable markets such as France and Switzerland, which have required a significant investment in time and resources. Still, they are the basis for building a future for the sector. The company's partners believe in opening new markets to achieve stable and fair product prices. In 2023, in addition to recovering the Swiss market after the pause due to the La Palma volcano, Europlátano's fruit has begun to have a punctual presence in the German and French markets, where new export projects are being developed.
With this constant initiative to search for small value market niches, the company reaffirms its international commercial strategy: to find consistent markets and customers who appreciate the product's value and allow fair remuneration for the partner farmers. "Betting on the international market cannot be something punctual for when 'surplus' product in the peninsular market but think of it as an investment to build a future for the Canary Islands banana sector. Trust relationships must be created with customers on the European continent by offering quality, service, and transparency continued over time," the company explains.
In this line of direct marketing with the customer, there is also the latest major project of Europlátano, which consists of the construction of new ripening warehouses in the north of the Peninsula that, added to those already managed in Alicante, allow direct service without intermediaries to the entire territory.
"To continue growing sustainably, a marketing model was essential in which the company controlled the entire production chain, from the farms to the linear; something that is a reality for Europlátano partners since the end of 2020 when they began to ripen their own fruit in Alicante. With this, it is possible to control the quality and traceability of the fruit; while intermediaries are eliminated, and costs are reduced. Soon this ripening capacity will be doubled thanks to the new warehouse that the company is building in Bilbao, so that direct service will be achieved throughout the Peninsula in the second half of 2024," it explains.
This is another of the added values with which Europlátano producers count. Ultimately, it is about building a future for the sector, working from all possible areas: field, certifications, financial stability, distinguished brand, ripening, export, services, etc. "It is about having a future perspective and betting on ensuring not only the survival of the sector but its profitability, so that we build sustainable and fair agriculture," highlights Europlátano.