The El Niño effect is starting to have a visible impact in Ecuador. According to Marek Szulc of Citronex, there is currently less sunshine and low temperatures, and by observing the plantations, Citronex is expecting that production will decrease very soon. “Last year, from January, Ecuador started to produce fewer bananas. And this year, in the middle of November, we have problems with demand, which exceeds the production.”
As a result of this situation, Marek says prices are on the rise. “Last year, in December, they were low. This year it is going to be different. At this moment, it is difficult to foresee what will happen after the New Year, but prospects point to a decline of up to 10-20 %.”
Regarding the situation in Russia, there is a big drop in demand. “Things were really bad last summer, from October prices have gone back to normal levels and Russians are buying great volumes of bananas from Ecuador, causing an increase of prices. We expect that this trend will continue at least until spring of 2016.”
Looking back at the year 2015, the conclusion is that it has been a very difficult year in the banana sector. “We spent a lot of energy in many ways to achieve and increase in quantities, but at the cost of profits. Besides, we decided to make new investments and we are building another ripening center which will be located near the port of Gdańsk. The opening is planned for mid-December 2015,” Marek explains.
Marek added, “Our warehouse is at full capacity and 140 chambers are insufficient to fulfill all the needs of clients interested in cooperation. The ripening warehouse in Gdańsk will make us more competitive in markets like Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. We will additionally have more space for clients from Germany and the Czech Republic in our warehouse located close to the border.”
All in all, Citronex is looking with great hopes at the year 2016. “Because having 200 chambers will allow us to improve the logistics and, obviously, the quality of our services,” ended Marek.
