One of the key points the Fairtrade Foundation has been at pains to point out in its new campaign for a ‘fair’ banana price has been the difficulty in supermarkets going it alone and raising the price. With bananas regularly featuring as a staple product line in price comparison baskets, retailers do not want to look expensive against their rivals.
The price of 68p/kg has become the ‘new normal’, the level stores came to rest at several years ago after Asda produced a series of particularly swingeing cuts that took bananas below 50p/kg. The days when the price would return to 99p/kg, at least in time for the new year, appear to have come to an end for now.
Indeed, analysis of the latest three-monthly figures from ProduceView shows that in the big-four stores, only Fairtrade supporter Sainsbury’s attempted to up the price. For a four-week period in January the supermarket raised its price to 79p, but none of the other stores followed suit and it was back at the same 68p point by the start of February. No other stores flinched during the quarter.
Figures from Cirad-Odeadon and Timetric cited by the Fairtrade Foundation show the average retail banana price in the UK fell from €1.72 in 2002 to €1.06 in 2012.
By contrast in Italy it has risen from €1.78 to €1.85, in France it increased from €1.58 to €1.74 and in Germany it climbed from €1.24 to €1.33 over the same period.
Click on the galley image (right) to view the full basket.
Promotions
It’s still cold out, and there are lots of deals on cabbage.
Green cabbages are 80p or two for £1 at Tesco, and 1op off at 69p in Morrisons.
Two green baby premium cabbages are £1.35 or two for £2 at Asda, while Lidl has a white cabbage for 4p off at 55p this week.
Waitrose has a kilo of January King at £1.04.
The data on this page is provided by ProduceView. Visitwww.produceview.co.uk, call 01507 353796 or email info@produceview.co.uk for more information.
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