2015 saw another year of steady growth for importers of green cooking bananas, reports the east coast market’s biggest green banana supplier.
“For me, this market every year is increasing,” says Vladimir Verdecia of W.P. Produce Corp., a tropical produce importer based out of Miami, FL.
With its green cooking banana program entering its eleventh year, W.P. Produce is the east coast market’s largest supplier of green cooking bananas, with Verdecia estimating that his company holds roughly 60% to 65% market share in that region.
Market driven by quality
Verdecia says that his company’s green banana program has grown each year of operation, with a 15% to 20% growth in sales in each of the past two years. According to Verdecia, demand for his company’s green banana program is dominated by Caribbean-American customers. Those customers demand high-quality product, Verdecia says, which is largely why W.P. Produce is able to stay on top of the market.
“Some major companies, like Dole and Chiquita, as well as other competitors, want to get into this market, but they don’t completely understand the product,” Verdecia says. Green cooking bananas require different growing, harvesting, and shipping conditions than eating bananas, and Verdecia says that his company needs to spend at least six months working with farmers before W.P. Produce sees the level of quality its customers expect.
“It’s important that the banana is completely green, and it needs to have a shelf life of at least fifteen days,” Verdecia explains. He adds that customers regularly choose higher priced, higher quality product over cheaper, lower quality product in the green banana niche market. “Quality is the marker.”
Product quality and yields stable
Verdecia says that one of the advantages to importing green cooking bananas is the product’s stability. “The price is very stable. You see pricing changes maybe three or four times a year,” Verdecia notes that green banana pricing patterns generally mirror – but are far less volatile – than eating banana prices. Currently, Verdecia’s company is selling its green bananas at $14.00 per 40 lb. box.
Part of the reason for the green banana’s stability, Verdecia says, is that it is less susceptible to adverse weather than other produce varieties. As a result, W.P. Produce’s green banana program, which derives its supply from Ecuador and Guatemala, has been unaffected by El Nino weather patterns in the past half-year. “Right now we don’t have any problems.”
