The banana sector in Togo, West Africa, is suffering from climate change, resulting in high speculation in local market prices. "Growers have lost control," says Eyram Constantin Nutsudze, agronomist and managing director of ATI Togo.
Nutsudze describes the situation: "There is no longer a well-defined period for production or harvesting. It's difficult to quantify volumes, as there are more and more irregularities in rainfall and harvests. However, we don't see any significant difference in yields compared to last year."
The grower continues: "We observe periods of abundance and periods of shortage. In general, production is most abundant between October and April".
According to Nutsudze, the entire Togolese banana production is destined for the local market, where demand is high. He adds: "Exports are almost insignificant. However, due to irregular volumes and the highly decentralized trade schemes, banana prices are highly speculative on the Togolese market, and that's something we witnessed recently. As a result, bananas have become more expensive this year".
According to FAOSTAT figures, banana production in Togo, a country of eight million inhabitants, stood at 24 thousand tonnes in 2022, with no exports and 400 tonnes imported, a stable trend over the last ten years.
For more information:
Eyram Constantin Nutsudze
ATI Togo
Tel: +22899512785
Email: [email protected]