Page 94 - Index

PRODUCTION TRENDS
While merchandising and educational e orts may serve to lift demand and poten- tially keep the di erential in check, supply limitations could also have an impact.
“Yield will continue to be a constraint even in the regions that have the right weather conditions,” says Postell. “Until now, Chiquita was able to adjust the supply chain to secure availability. However, if demand continues to grow at the current pace, avail- ability may become an issue.”
“We nd that in some cases producing organic bananas requires more land and water than it would to produce an equal volume of conventional bananas,” notes Del Monte’s Christou. “Ecuador, Mexico and Colombia are among the countries where we source our organic bananas. Organic banana yields will perform better in drier climates, therefore requiring less irrigation and additional water usage.”
Other major organic banana supplying nations include Peru and the Dominican
Republic; the latter is the world’s leader in the category, but the majority of its volume is sold across the Atlantic to the UK and Europe rather than to its regional neighbors in the United States.
Gold eld says his company is investing in the growing technologies, programs and people that will allow yields to keep up with increasing demand.
Hicks of Oke USA says the conversion to organic is often advantageous to growers due to higher economic returns. In her opinion, growers in the Chira Valley of northern Peru are particularly well placed.
“ e region is rather dry and therefore less at risk for stubborn banana maladies, such as the pernicious fungal disease Black Sigatoka,” she says. “ at said, climate change is a ecting producers everywhere, resulting in extreme temperatures or erratic weather patterns in this region as well, such as unprec- edented ooding in recent years.”
Most companies that handle organics say there is very little di erence in shelf life, but good handling is needed. Hicks says organic bananas tend to be more susceptible to developing crown mold or other cosmetic damages, as many e ective chemical treat- ments are not allowed.
“For example, conventional bananas are often treated postharvest with fungi- cides containing iabendazole to prevent mold growth, whereas organic bananas are treated with a solution of water, lemon juice, and alum; healthier for the ecosystem and workers, but less e ective for mold preven- tion,” she says.
Chiquita’s Postell says that to overcome minor variances in shelf life between organic and conventional bananas, in early 2019 the company started using solutions such as Star Care Containers for 100 percent of organic loads shipped to the United States.
“ e new ultra-e cient containers use software that automatically regulates the containers’ compressor to control the atmo- sphere,” says Postell, noting this has resulted in fresher bananas with a longer shelf life. “ e Star Care Containers have also resulted in a positive environmental impact, reducing CO2 consumption by 17,000 tons per year.”
And there may well be more supply on its way. Precise gures are hard to come by, but Mordor Intelligence of Hyderabad, India estimates 890,000 metric tons (MT) of organic bananas were produced worldwide last year with that number projected to grow to 1.23 million MT by 2024. pb
94 / SEP TEMBER 2019 / PRODUCE BUSINESS