Great expectations for Mexican bananas on Canadian market

“Even though the market conditions in the worldwide market for bananas seem to be poor, we are positive about starting our export to Canada. The prices Canadian consumers are willing to pay, offers chances for a relatively good profit. The Canadian market itself has high requirements, for example, in terms of quality. If we meet these high standards, we hope to start exporting from June on under our own brand”, says Germán Martinez from King Fruit, Mexico.

The King Fruit Company has only recently been established. “As a grower we have been producing for more than 7 years. As it’s a family business, we have experience in banana production over 5 decades. However, we’ve always been producing and then selling our fruits to the multinationals like Chiquita. As a company, we decided to take the step of exporting under our own brand. We are Global Gap certified and the growers are in the process for the Fairtrade certificate. With the support of the banana industry in the Teapa region, we hope to succeed.”

The production of King Fruit is located in the South East of Mexico. “Our plantations are in Teapa, Tabasco. The weather conditions are very favourable for banana production, as it’s similar to the rainforest climate such as in Ecuador and Costa Rica. Something that contributes to us being one of the best banana production regions in Mexico.”

Martinez explains that the two neighbouring provinces Tabasco and Chiapas always are the two biggest banana production regions in Mexico. “In case of Tabasco, about 100 containers per week are exported to USA, Europe, South Korea and hopefully Canada soon. This is a joint effort of all producers in the region, that are members of the banana union. All of these volumes are sold to the bigger companies.”

Besides this activity, King Fruit is starting to export with their own brand to Canada. “We’ve joined the CMPA exhibition in Vancouver to promote our own brand. A lot of networking has been done with transport companies, wholesalers and the retail chains. We are proud to say that soon a wholesaler in the Vancouver area will visit our company and plantations. If all goes well, we hope to start export at the end of June.”

According to Martinez, the Canadian market is complicated in terms of consumers that demand very high quality. “By penetrating this market, of which we believe standards are even higher than in Europe, we have a good reference. To be able to export to Canada, we have to comply with the CFIA (Canadian Food Inspection Agency) national policies guidelines. Also, we have to be a member of the DRC (the Fruit and Vegetable Dispute Resolution Corporation). If we meet all standards for the Canadian market, we should be able to export to Europe as well. This will be the next step after Canada, exporting to the Netherlands.”

He explains that about 90% of the Teapa region banana production is used for export to the United States, Europe and Asia. “We have a great product, however, often people are not aware of this. Bigger companies take advantage of smaller producers that are not willing to take the risk of exporting themselves. Our bananas are sold on the European market already, however under different brands. Our intention is to be present in the same markets with our own brand. We want to not just promote the brand, but also the origin of the banana in the international market. People should know about bananas from the Teapa region.”

Instead of transport by air or sea, the intention of King Fruit is to use intermodal logistics. “We are still in negotiation how to arrange logistics the best. However, for now the idea is to use road transport in combination with sea shipment. This would mean by land from Teapa to Manzanillo Port, then by sea to Oakland or Seattle. From there on by truck to the destination in Canada. This gives us the opportunity to have the load arrive closer to our client. ”

Germán concludes that King Fruit wants to be taken serious. “It’s a huge step for our banana zone. We want to supply the Canadian market with high and constant quality bananas supplied in good quality boxes.”