Indicators February 2004 french market : banana, avocado, orange, grapefruit, easy peelers, litchi

Banana: Performance was even worse than in January. The average price was down by 25 percent in France and by nearly 15 percent in Germany in comparison with average levels. Shipments from the main production zones had been small in January and then recovered to a point slightly above average. However, weak demand-a recurrent feature since the beginning of the year-once again seems to be the main cause of poor performance. Avocado: Supplies remained markedly short in both green varieties and medium grade Hass. As a result in spite of comparatively sluggish demand, prices remained comparatively firm and distinctly above the average for goods of this type in recent seasons. The situation remained fairly difficult for small fruits. Orange: Performance has been good. Releases and average price are considerably up on the preceding seasons. The increase in the range of varieties available following the strong increase in supplies of Navelate seems to have generated greater interest from the distribution sector. Grapefruit: After being very difficult in December and January, the market perked up in February. Arrivals were comparatively small, especially from Florida. Demand also proved fairly satisfactory during the first half of the month. As a result, the mean monthly price rose distinctly in comparison with that of January but nevertheless remained slightly lower than average. Easy peelers: Performance was satisfactory. Prices remained at a very good level even though the shortage of supplies was much less marked than in January. Demand was healthy, probably as a result of better quality, as this had often been uneven in the preceding months because of rain at the end of 2003. Litchi: The litchi market was very difficult in February because of the uneven quality of fruits from Madagascar and dwindling demand from the retail chains and foreign markets, the main channels for litchi sales. In this context, South African supplies fetched better prices in spite of a gradual decrease in quality. (Résumé d'auteur