“Ginger, lime and papaya: the 3 exotic fruits we sell the most”

Since the beginning of the Covid crisis, three exotic fruits seem to stand out with consumers. “Since March 2020, the sales of ginger, lime and papaya have been particularly dynamic. Today, they constitute our top 3 exotic sales,” explains François Moran of the Tropibana company located at the MIN of Rungis.

“This success is especially linked to the Covid effect. French consumers want to take better care of themselves by consuming more of certain fruit and vegetables that are known for their health benefits. It is the case of ginger, papaya and lime, rich in antioxidants. The success of the papaya goes back to the time when Pope Jean-Paul II was taking papaya-based dietary supplements. As a result, the health benefits of the fruit were recognized worldwide and papaya sales exploded.”

For the other exotic fruits, however, the demand was not very high this summer. “First of all, from July 15th to August 15th, many French people were on holiday. The rainy weather also did not encourage consumption. From the end of this week, sales should pick up pace. But overall, we have worked rather well this year. We’ve had a very nice orange and clementine campaign from South Africa. Stone fruits were very expensive and the weather was not nice, so consumers turned to citrus fruits. We really sold a lot of oranges and clementines this year!”