Price of banana set to rise in UK

The price of bananas is set to break through the £1 per kilo barrier on the back of high oil prices and the weakness of sterling, according to a report.

Bananas are selling for 97p per kilo in the big four supermarkets, 35% up on the same period last year when the fruit was regularly discounted, according to The Grocer magazine.

But shipping companies which import bananas are renewing contracts over the coming months and are expected to demand higher prices, the trade magazine said.

The rising price of oil has had an effect on shipping fuel costs and importers have been hit by the weakness of both sterling and the euro, according to the report.

The higher costs could send the retail price of bananas to £1.08 per kilo in the coming months.

A supplier told The Grocer: “There’s not a supplier out there making a healthy profit at the moment. And supermarkets are losing money hand over fist as they try to maintain these low prices.”

Irish importer Fyffes also warned in a trading update last month that it would be seeking an increase in selling prices to offset the impact of poor exchange rates and higher costs.

Another importer cast doubt on whether supermarkets would be prepared to move the price any higher.

He told the magazine: “We have seen an 8% to 9% increase on sea freight and fruit cost, which would equate to a 3.7p per kilo increase, which is within the margins supermarkets will absorb.”

Source: Press Association