Two and a half years ago, the Russian army invaded neighbouring Ukraine. One of the major cities hit in the first year of the war was the harbour city of Odesa, then the home town of banana specialist Maksym Kovalenko. Under the new company name Bananiv GmbH, based in Albstadt, Germany, he has been supplying food retailers in his home country with bananas from Ecuador for two years. Despite everything, the yellow fruit is still extremely popular in the Eastern European republic.
The port of Odesa was attacked for the first time in the summer of 2022. Kovalenko was visiting family in Germany at the time and decided to stay. Like many other companies, his then rapidly growing company fell victim to the war. So he decided to continue his business activities from Albstadt. "Information and logistics have always been the cornerstones of my business. Since I have been operating with Bananiv, it has become clear how important it is to have reliable employees on board. We are a small, well-rehearsed team of just five people. Everyone has their areas of responsibility, and we rely on sophisticated, modern software. In this respect, our company is already largely digitalised."
Maksym Kovalenko, Founder and Managing Director of Bananiv GmbH
Resilient banana supply chain
The young company is primarily dedicated to the import and distribution of conventional bananas, most of which are marketed under its own brand called Bananiv. Kovalenko: "We work almost exclusively with selected producers in Ecuador. Although we have also imported goods from Colombia on a trial basis, we decided not to continue due to increased quality problems. Around 95 per cent of our total volume is accounted for by conventional Cavendish bananas, although we also offer mini and red bananas. The latter enjoyed increasing popularity among Ukrainian consumers before the war, and there are again isolated enquiries and projects with red bananas."
The main customers of Bananiv GmbH are Ukrainian food retailers (including the Silpo group) and selected wholesalers, Kovalenko continues. "However, it is a matter close to my heart to contribute to maintaining the banana supply chain in Ukraine. Accordingly, we do not supply food retail customers directly, but rather the ripening centres in Odesa and Lviv, which in turn ripen the green bananas on behalf of retailers." Even though there is still a certain basic demand for bananas, a general decline in the volume of Ukrainian imports has been observed, which in turn is due to the large number of emigrants. The company's other sales markets include the Republic of Moldova and other countries in Eastern Europe.
Banana prices hit rock bottom
The banana merchant observes that the banana market has recently come under increasing pressure. "Prices remained stable and acceptable throughout the summer. But then there was an abrupt price reduction at the beginning of August, meaning that the selling price is now lower than the purchase price in some cases. In this respect, we have reached an absolute low point and are hoping for a recovery in the market by September," concludes Kovalenko.
Photo credit: Bananiv GmbH
For more information:
Maksym Kovalenko
Bananiv GmbH
Johannes-Brahms-Strasse 4
72461 Albstadt
T: +49 151 20489758
[email protected]
www.bananiv.com