The company reported quarterly adjusted earnings of 34 cents per share for the quarter ending in March, which is lower than last year's EPS of 55 cents. Two analysts' mean expectation for the quarter was for earnings of 61 cents per share, with Wall Street expecting results to range from 60 cents to 61 cents per share. Revenue fell 1.8% to $1.11 billion from a year ago, with analysts expecting $1.15 billion. Fresh Del Monte Produce Inc.'s reported EPS for the quarter was 55 cents. The company reported a quarterly net income of $26.1 million.

Banana selling prices in St. Petersburg fluctuated significantly throughout the week, influenced by factors such as brand, volume, quality, and packaging. Prices began at USD 22.50 per box CIF on Monday, increased to USD 23.55 on Tuesday, and escalated to USD 24.65 per box CIF by Thursday. One container vessel with around 485.000 boxes will be delayed to the incoming week. Despite these price fluctuations, demand remained consistent during the extended holiday period. In week 18, approximately 1.52 million boxes were unloaded, and an estimated 2.15 million boxes are projected for week 19. This increasing demand trend is a positive indicator for the industry, although demand is anticipated to decline in the upcoming weeks, as is typical when summer fruits enter the market. Interestingly, a substantial volume of bananas from China made their way into the Central Asian former Soviet Republics. While bananas from other sources are also regularly imported into Russia, the preference continues to favor Ecuadorian fruit, indicating a promising market for Ecuadorian banana exporters. The exchange rate was established at 1 USD = 91.79 RUB.

Cocoa, bananas, and coffee represent the bulk of sales for the Fairtrade/Max Havelaar label, affixed in France on about 85% of Fairtrade products coming from Southern countries. Fairtrade is resilient. Driven by cocoa and bananas, the turnover of Fairtrade/Max Havelaar labelled products increased by 4% in 2023 in France, according to the certifying body.

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On April 26, 2024, Ecuador's Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MAG) introduced a new control for the banana trade, a unique banana code. This code aims to strengthen the controls of the Unibanano system, ensuring the integrity of the fruit's registration and export procedures. The code was created through Ministerial Agreement 015 on March 81. The Unibanano system, which has been in place since 2012, registers and updates the data of producers, exporters, and traders by the banana law.

The strengthening demand for Asia-European trades has taken carriers and forwarders off guard, leading to tighter space and an increased likelihood of shipments under long-term contracts being rolled over. Towards the end of the previous week, many customers began experiencing issues with their allocations, according to a European forwarder. The problem arises when contract rates fall significantly below spot rates during busy periods, causing carriers to prioritise the cargo that pays the most.

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S&P Global Ratings has updated its outlook on Dole PLC to stable from negative while affirming all its ratings, including the 'BB' issuer credit rating. The stable outlook reflects S&P's expectation that Dole will continue generating healthy Free Operating Cash Flow (FOCF) and remain committed to deleveraging, aiming to maintain leverage around 3.5x. S&P anticipates that Dole will continue reducing leverage, supported by a modest 4% year-over-year growth in EBITDA in 2023 and a significant reduction in working capital requirements as supply chain constraints ease.

Cameroon and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) have signed a framework agreement worth more than 1.617 billion FCFA (or $2.7 million) to support small Cameroonian farmers. The funds will acquire and distribute nearly 5000 input kits to small farmers and breeders to bolster food security. The agreement, signed on April 22 in Yaoundé, aims to strengthen the production capacities of small farmers through support for crops and livestock for resilience.

AP Moller-Maersk's earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) have plunged 92% year-on-year (YoY) for the first quarter (Q1) of 2024, mainly due to a prolonged Red Sea crisis. While the gross revenue was $3.2 billion for Q1 in 2023, the EBITDA decreased to $1.5 billion. Excluding depreciation and amortisation, earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) fell to $117 million from $2.3 billion for the same YoY period.

Fresh Del Monte Produce and Vegetables and the University of Granada (UGR) of Spain, known for its cutting-edge research, have announced an expanded partnership. This collaboration will explore the use of bioactive compounds from fruit residues for medical and non-medical applications, aiming to promote health and well-being.

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.

Members of the Sitraibana Union had planned a strike for April 30, but it was cancelled. On April 29, with the mediation of the Panamanian Ministry of Labor and Labor Development (Mitradel), negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement between the Union of Workers of the Agricultural Banana Industry and Related Companies (Sitraibana) and Chiquita Panama concluded, effectively.

The trade agreement between Ecuador and China took effect on May 1, leading to a tariff reduction for most products. The commercial sector has high expectations for the agreement, particularly for agricultural and agro-industrial products. "We also believe that the banana market can expand," the Ecuador-China Chamber of Commerce president Dario Regalado told the Ecuadorian media. Import duties on bananas, previously 10%, will drop to 0 under the Free Trade Agreement (FTA).

According to the Secretary of Agriculture and Rural Development (Sader) of Mexico, the country's banana sales to the USA and Canada accounted for 74.3%, 15.6%, and 0.2%, respectively, from 2018 to 2022. Mexico's banana exports to Japan increased by 24.9%. The two main trading partners followed it in the North American region, where the expansion of the trade agreement came into effect on July 1, 2020. Canada has 4.5%, and the United States has 3.3%.