Cameroon's banana exports reached 22,721 tons in January 2024, a 25.5% increase from the 18,101 tons shipped to the global market in January 2023. According to Cameroon Banana Association (Assobacam) data, all three leading producers contributed to this outstanding sector performance. In detail, Plantations du Haut Penja (PHP), a subsidiary of Compagnie fruitière de Marseille, exported 16,875 tons of bananas in the first month of 2024, up 17.9% from the 14,314 tons shipped in January 2023.

Cool Carriers informed that starting from Week 11, will resume the regular 21-day direct transit from Guayaquil/Puerto Bolivar to St. Petersburg. “This change reflects our unwavering commitment to providing you with excellent service.” To ensure a smooth transition, we will implement this change gradually, not to skip a loading week; for example, during Weeks 8 to 10, the contract volume will be reduced by 25%. Please take note of the following itineraries for the upcoming weeks:

At Berlin’s Fruit Logistica, Lidl unveiled its initial achievements and insights on actively bridging wage disparities through the “Living Wage Banana” initiative. As a fresh discounter, Lidl became the first food retailer to bridge the wage gap, ensuring living wages for 10,000 workers on banana farms in Colombia, Ecuador, Guatemala, and the Dominican Republic - all major banana-producing countries. In 2022, Lidl embarked on this project in partnership with FLOCERT, a global fair trade certification company, and The Sustainable Trade Initiative (IDH), a non-profit organization.

Banana selling prices in St. Petersburg were USD21.50-22.60 per box CIF according to brand, quality, and packing. Nearly 1.6 million boxes were discharged in week 6, and around 1.89 million are expected for week 7. According to industry sources, there were around 300 FEUs with bananas at the St Petersburg port awaiting delivery by Friday, and more might pile up in the coming days due to the ban on 5 Ecuadorian banana exporting companies. Prices might increase due to the lower volumes of bananas available in the retail system. Prices in the Mediterranean for Ecuadorian bananas, depending on brand, volume, region, and packing, were USD 16.00-18.00 per box CIF. They were slightly higher in Libya, with Ecuadorian bananas sold at USD 17.00-18.00 per box  CIF and bananas from Central America at around USD 16.00 per box CIF. Prices in the Mersin Free Zone were around USD 16.50-17.50 per box for the re-exported bananas of Ecuadorian origin.

According to the Russian news agency Interfax, the Far Eastern Shipping Company (FESCO), the Vladivostok-based shipping and logistics company, one of the largest in the Russian Federation offers Russian importers to diversify their import sources after the ban imposed on five exporting companies from the Andinian country Andrei Severilov, the company’s chairman, informed reporters that they had communicated their readiness to the Russian Agriculture Ministry and all major retail chains.

The National Assembly of Ecuador, the country's unicameral legislature, on February 7 ratified a free trade agreement between the Andean nation and China. "Promoting the expansion and diversification of trade between Ecuador and China, eliminating trade barriers and facilitating the cross-border circulation of goods are the goals of the free trade agreement approved by the National Assembly," the legislature said in a statement.

Standard Fruit Company, a subsidiary of Dole, has announced the closure of two of its banana farms, leading to the dismissal of 111 employees. The company attributes this decision to the exchange rate policy, which it claims is adversely affecting the competitiveness of its operations. Juan Carlos Rojas, the Legal Director of the company, said that the closure of the Roxana and Parismina farms, both situated in Guápiles, within the canton of Pococí.

AP Moller-Maersk, the Danish shipping and logistics conglomerate, has set a new industry precedent by validating its decarbonisation targets. These targets align with the Paris Agreement’s objective to limit the global average temperature increase to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels. The company’s goals have been verified by the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi), a globally recognized authority for assessing corporate climate targets.

Sainsbury’s, the supermarket giant, has taken a pioneering step in the industry by investing in living wages for banana workers. This move comes three years ahead of a broader industry commitment, demonstrating Sainsbury’s proactive approach to fair trade. In the previous year, Sainsbury’s, along with nine other UK retailers, pledged to bridge the pay gap for workers on large banana plantations.

Global banana marketers (Banasan) has reached an achievement by receiving the Certification of Excellence in Sustainability granted by (CHEP), marking a fundamental step in its environmental commitment and responsibility. It should be noted that this award certifies the company's efforts with its suppliers, consolidating its position as a benchmark in promoting the circular economy, a model of production and consumption that involves sharing, reusing, renewing, and recycling materials and products.

Over 3 million containers were mobilized in the Port Terminal of Guayaquil (TPG) in the last six years, with an annual average of 500,000 TEUs. It was indicated by the entity in the latest figures after the closing of 2023. According to Luis Enrique Navas, its general manager, in that year, the transfer of containers registered a significant increase, from 487,904 containers in 2022 to 507,223 in 2023.

Chiquita Guatemala S.A. (Chiquita) has received the first two of three Konecranes reachstackers for its Terminal Ferroviaria in Puerto Barrios with one more scheduled for delivery in 2024. The first two reachstackers, a Konecranes SMV 4632 TC5 and a Konecranes SMV 4632 TC6H were received in Q3 2023. The third one, currently on its way, is a Konecranes Liftace 4532 TCE5.

Colombian banana producers, headed by the Association of Colombian Banana Growers (Augura) and the Association of Banana Growers of Magdalena and La Guajira, were present in Berlin, Germany, at the Fruit Logistica fair seeking joint solutions to address the price crisis facing the sector. A few days ago, the banana guilds warned about the possibility of a drop in the price paid per box exported to the European Union, as supermarkets in this area allegedly requested a reduction of 1.30 euros.

With an investment of approximately $ 90,000, the Agency for Regulation and Phytosanitary and Zoosanitary Control (Agrocalidad) upgraded the rapid diagnostic laboratory (LDR) of Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas, which will benefit more than 50,000 producers in the area that includes the provinces of Santo Domingo, Esmeraldas, Manabí, El Oro and Los Ríos. With this repowering, the laboratory presents an annual analytical capacity for this year of 7,800 samples, with an increase of 3,260 samples in 2023, which means an increase of 42% in the attention of the LDR Santo Domingo.

After the sanctions imposed by the Russian government against five Ecuadorian banana exporters for the alleged presence of the humpback fly, Patricio Almeida, director of the Agency for Phytosanitary and Animal Health Regulation and Control (Agrocalidad) of Ecuador, said that the humpback fly is not an agricultural pest of bananas, as denounced by the Federal Veterinary Control Service in Moscow.