The serious shortage of Australian bananas caused by damage from Wednesday night’s Tropical Cyclone Yasi has prompted Philippine exports to re-examine the potential for exports to the market.
Less than 12 hours after Yasi ripped through northern Queensland, Australian retailers and grocers were putting up the price of bananas.
With estimates percolating of 75 per cent loss of the Australian banana crop, of which the vast majority is grown in the path Yasi took overnight on Wednesday, those price rises are no doubt the first of many.
Bananas were retailing in some grocers at A$7 per kg yesterday, and will potentially go as A$18 per kg, as was seen following the devastation of Cyclone Larry five years ago.
Industry figures have forecast wholesale prices will hit around A$60 per 13kg box within two weeks – a rapid swing from prices in the wholesale market that were under growers’ cost of production less than a month ago.
Those rising prices have caused Philippine exporters to take a fresh look at the market, and peak industry body the Pilipino Banana Growers and Exporters Association (PBGEA) is now seeking a status report from the Philippine embassy’s commercial attaché in Australia on the potential for exports, reported The Australian.
The Philippines – Asia’s largest banana exporter – was granted access to the Australian market in 2009, but the arduous protocol has meant no exporters have yet sought access.
Stephen Antig, the PBGEA’s executive director, said he hoped to see concrete progress on imports within two months. “This will definitely benefit not only the Filipino exporters but also the Australian consumers,” he said.
The renewed possibility of Philippine imports has drawn outrage from Australian banana growers, however, who say low-priced imports would mean the industry could not recover from the damage caused by Cyclone Yasi.
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