“The pineapple market was primarily very expensive during the first half of the year. Later in the year, more ups and downs followed. For example, we had a slump in June, but that was followed by a decent summer. Everyone thought October would also be good, but that was a very bad month, in which various players lost a lot of money,” Mario de Goede from CoolFresh International explains.
“Right now, the pineapple market is not yet back at a decent level. Certain importers have too much supply on the market, causing pressure. Prices are between 6 and 8 euro, depending on supply and quality, and it is difficult to raise these,” De Goede continues. “December is still very uncertain. During the past two years, December was very bad, in fact. I hope this year will be slightly better, but a large importer is deciding prices, and there is plenty of product from Costa Rica.”
“More volume is expected from Costa Rica for next year. There was less production than was hoped for this year, and it was a difficult year for cultivators. But demand from industry is expected to continue to be good in 2017. It appears as if cultivators will cultivate slightly larger sizes next year. They are going all out to get the kilograms to fill up the boxes quicker, and sizes will shift from five to six,” De Goede expects.
De Goede has just returned from Costa Rica, where he noticed people are worried about Donald Trump’s election victory. “The country is quite focused on the US, and those trade agreements have a lot of influence.”
