Pineapple Demand Surges in Costa Rica for Christmas, Creating a Supply Gap for Early 2024

In Nov-23 and the first half of Dec-23, the Costa Rican pineapple industry experienced a surge in demand, driven primarily by European and particularly Russian, for Christmas celebrations. During this period, spot sales of pineapples spiked by more than 300% month-on-month (MoM), leading producers to pre-harvest young fruit to meet the heightened demand. However, this has created a supply gap for the last two weeks of Dec-23 and the first week of Jan-24. Production is expected to stabilize in Jan-24 as plantations recover from the intense demand in Nov-23 and Dec-23.