No bender for prices of bananas

Press, 24 July 1986, Page 15

No bender for prices of bananas

Banana prices in Christchurch have remained stable, although consumers in Wellington have been reaping the benefits of a glut of bananas and a price less than half that of normal.

The oversupply follows a miscalculation six weeks ago of demand for bananas yesterday by the importers, Fruit Distributors, Ltd, in Wellington. The Christchurch supply seemed ‘‘fairly well judged” for the demand, said the manager of the Christchurch branch of Fruit Distributors, Ltd, Mr John McLaughlan.

“At the moment, we feel we have a sensible amount for the trade.”

There was no glut in Christchurch, and no bananas were being sold at auction, except those possibly damaged, he said.

The marketing manager, Mr Michael Daysh, said the mistake was something that happened occasionally, and benefited the consumer with cheap bananas flooding the market. “Bananas are the most perishable fruit about and have to be sold, as they can’t be stored,” he said. “Therefore prices will

be low for at least the next week, until this shipment is sold.” At auction, the bananas are selling for between $4 and $6 a carton compared to $7 to $l2 generally. In Christchurch, the wholesale price for Philippine bananas remained at $23.10 an 18kg carton.

Another shipment of bananas was due tomorrow, said Mr McLaughlan. Bananas are imported from the Pacific Islands, Ecuador and, as in the case of the most recent shipment, the Philippines.

New Zealanders are some of the world’s top consumers of bananas, with each person eating something like 12kg each year.

The prices of other fruits, such as oranges and grapes, are also fairly low, Mr Daysh said.

This was because of a freeing up of regulations last year which saw more competition and therefore lower prices, he said. “Although this and the oversupply mean lower prices and we are losing money on this shipment, it does help tone up demand as people become more used to buying the fruit”