China is the best hope for expansion of Philippine banana sales in the future, according to a prognosis from exporter Nader & Ebrahim S/O Hassan Philippines (NEH).
NEH, which was established by parent company NEH Bahrain to supply bananas to the Middle East, has recently turned its focus from the region to closer markets Asia.
General manager Jeroen de Haas told Asiafruit Magazine Philippine banana production had increased 36 per cent in the last five years, but the country’s traditional major markets were effectively saturated, and had little room left for serious growth.
“We see China as the fast growing market of the future,” Mr de Haas said, explaining Philippine bananas exports to China had grown 250 per cent in the last two years to around 50m cartons, and buyers were asking for more volume than exporters could supply.
“We believe that if we take China as a Class 1 market like Japan or Korea, there is a real opportunity. Traditionally it’s been a Class 2 market, but it’s becoming Class 1, and local production `in China` is getting more expensive, because of things like Panama disease in Hainan.”
But to achieve strong growth of Class 1 exports to China will require a paradigm shift from the country’s importers, according to Mr de Haas.
“All the supply chain needs to be on the same page, and that’s something a bit new for Chinese importers,” he stated.
The almost total lack of suitable banana ripening facilities among importers meant maintaining Class 1 quality through to the retail shelf was very difficult, and until that state of affairs changed the market’s growth would be hamstrung.
NEH marked its first year of significant volume exports to China in 2011, with around 10 containers a week heading into the market.
“We’ll increase towards the end of the year, and next year we think we’ll do about 50 containers a week next year,” detailed managing partner Paul Smits.
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