It is likely that something is not being done correctly at the Association of Canary Banana Producers (Asprocan), currently presided by Santiago Rodríguez, despite it becoming clear that the foundational objective of this entity is now much more difficult to achieve, especially given the progressive disappearance, as scheduled, of the tariff protection for EU-grown bananas against the fruit from other origins, which competes with Canary bananas in the single market in which it is sold: the Iberian Peninsula (including Portugal).
With this clarification made, the second thing worth noting is that Asprocan has considerable monetary resources (almost six million Euro per year, with 81% of that coming from the growers' pockets) to carry out its main task: helping in the marketing of Canary bananas in the only market where they are distributed, as well as pursuing its introduction into new ones; something it has failed to achieve so far after over 20 years trying.
All this, especially the successes, aims to bring balance to the crop's cultivation and to ensure that the income of the Islands' producers does not enter a downward trend, to which end the EU already provides considerable assistance through its Posei program, with an annual contribution of 141 million Euro; public funds which are managed by the Canary Islands Government and which are religiously transferred in two semi-annual payments.
On the results obtained
Last year, Asprocan had a budget of nearly six million Euro (5.84 million), of which 4.7 million were supplied by growers at a rate of 0.012 Euro per kilo traded.
Of all available resources last year, 4.7 million Euro (around 80% of the total) were spent on advertising, while expenditure on staff and general expenses stood very close to a million, with a total of 850 thousand Euro. This amount was broken down into 0.18 million for staff costs and 0.66 under the heading of general expenses. This same budget structure remains roughly unchanged in the plans approved for 2015, including the second projected version of the currently running budget, as revealed in official documents.
So far we could say that it is all good, especially if banana growers, who account for 81% of the budget, do not protest against Asprocan's budget, which is something that has never happened so far. But things change, and considerably, if we compare head to head Asprocan's high budget with the commercial results obtained by the Canarian fruit in the Iberian market. If this is done, the perception of the usefulness of such a huge investment could change or at the very least spark a debate.
Last year, Asprocan spent 5.8 million Euro, with 80% of that global amount going to advertising (4.7 million). In the same year, the volume of Canary bananas marketed (domestic + exports) reached 375 million kilos, while the entry of bananas from other origins in Spain broke a new record, with 260 million kilos and a percentage increase compared to the previous year of 33% (in 2013, banana imports stood at 190 million kilos).
This avalanche of bananas from other origins in the single market for the Canary Islands, together with Portugal, meant that the Islands' bananas lost a significant market share. While the volume of bananas from other origins increased by 33% from 2013 to 2014, with 70 million kilos more, that of domestic fruit only increased by 15 million kilos in 2014, up 5%.
This makes it clear why bananas from other origins improved their market share in Spain (without taking Portugal into account) by between five and seven points in 2014 to the detriment of Canary bananas, and this despite the 4.7 million Euro invested in advertising last year. The balance for 2014 is, without a doubt, a terrifying one; something which can also be said about the apparently low returns generated for Canary banana producers from this considerable promotional investment.
Situation of the crop
Today, as reflected by official data from the Council of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Water of the Canary Islands, the acreage devoted to banana cultivation in the region stands at about 9,100 hectares. The island of Tenerife accounts for most of it, followed by Palma, Gran Canaria, La Gomera and El Hierro.
Of this, according to the same sources, 3,200 hectares are grown in protected cultivation, under glass or mesh, while the rest, 5,900, are outdoors plantations. Banana cultivation is the agricultural activity that contributes most to the GDP of the Canary Islands.
After the disappearance of the Common Market Organisation (CMO) for bananas, which survived numerous reforms since 1993, the EU's banana producers started receiving (from 2006) their direct payments through the various POSEI programs for the outermost regions.
In the Canary case, the total amount of direct support for this crop amounts to 141 million Euro per year; funds which go to about 9,000 growers. In just three and a half months, Asprocan ordered the withdrawal of ten million kilos of bananas due to the collapse of the fruit's price in the Peninsula. It happened in the months of April-May 2015.
Last year, the Canary Islands sold about 375 million kilos of bananas, with just 400 large producers controlling around 50% of the volume. These are also the ones receiving the most money from the EC assistance.
