Rising Demand for High-Quality Pineapples from Panama

Panama is a major tropical fruit exporter. Although it is most famous for bananas, Panamanian pineapples are gaining recognition as well. Around 70% of its pineapple export goes to the European market, followed by the North American market, and the Asian market. Recently, Panamanian exporters have seen a rise in demand for high-quality pineapples.

The biggest competitor for Panamanian pineapples is Costa Rica. Traditionally, Costa Rica is the biggest exporter of pineapples in the world, with an export value of $1.5 billion in 2016. However, opportunities for the Panamanian pineapple have recently arisen as Costa Rica is losing some of its competitive advantages. According to Thomas Connell from La Dona Fruit, Costa Rica “has come under increasing pressure from distributors and retailers due to over-development and environmental problems, which presents opportunities for more sustainable farms to enter the market.” Their export volume has declined in 2019, which allows for Panamanian exporters to step into the market. 

Furthermore, contrary to Costa Rica and other competing exporting countries, Panama does not experience a natural flowering of the fruit, when production levels cannot be controlled and thus supply increases, which ensures that there is a steady supply throughout all seasons. This makes Panama an interesting partner for importers.

During the last few years, the total export value of Panamanian pineapples has declined, mainly due to a general oversupply, which led to downward pressure on export prices. Furthermore, 2018 was a very bad year for the European pineapple market, due to a general oversupply, low prices, and a low demand, which led to a decline of Panamanian pineapple exports. Despite this recent decline, exporters are confident that 2020 will see an increase in the exported volume, as Panama has started exporting pineapples to new Asian clients, including China in the first quarter of 2019.

There are three basic varieties of pineapples produced in Panama: green/standard fruit, high coloration (sweeter & more mature) & premium Airfreight. La Dona Fruit highlights that the demand has changed over the last years and that they have seen a rise in the demand for higher-quality pineapples in Europe, especially in the Mediterranean region. They currently produce 337K cases, of which 30% is their super sweet variety and 25% their airfreight variety. Because of the rising demand, they are expanding their production to 436K cases in 2020, aiming to make these high-quality pineapples 35% of their production each. 

La Dona Fruit attributes this rising demand to two major causes. Firstly, there has been a rise in demand for convenient, high-quality food. As there is a quite well-established market for pre-cut and pre-packaged fruits in Europe, these higher-quality varieties are increasingly demanded. Secondly, consumers nowadays are more interested in where their food comes from. There is an increasing emphasis on the way fruits and vegetables are grown and shipped. “Consumers, in general, want to know more about who grows the fruit, how it's grown and how it’s transported. It is important growers recognize this and create the connection with the end-user.” This presents an opportunity for smaller growers who focus on the quality of their pineapples.