Banana importers struggling to meet demand

Demand for bananas is still strong. Photo / File

A major banana importer says a world shortage has reduced its supply at a time of stronger demand from New Zealanders who have switched from expensive summer fruits.

MG Marketing, which supplies 45 per cent of the New Zealand market with the Dole brand, said its supply from growers in the Philippines had dipped, forcing it to try to get more from Ecuador in South America.

"Bananas are still on the shop shelves but there is not the same volume," said MG chief executive Peter Hendry.

"We have supply from Ecuador now and are trying to get more but we probably won't get a lot because of the higher demand and tight supply globally.

"However, volumes should come right in the next two to three weeks, we believe."

Mr Hendry said demand was strong because families thought their usual fare - summer harvested fruit - too expensive at about $8.99 a kg but they still wanted healthy eating and they saw value in a kilogram of bananas for $2.99.

MG is a major supplier to supermarket giant Foodstuffs, whose group marketing general manager, Steve Bayliss, said supply had been tighter than normal for its New World, Pak'nSave and Four Square stores. However, it managed to procure enough stock from across the brands of Dole, Fyffes and Bonita to meet customer demand over summer and did not expect to run out in the next two to three weeks.

Green-yellow bananas only were on sale at the New World Metro store in Queen St, Auckland, yesterday and three cost $1.76 at the $2.99 a kg ticket price.

At the rival Countdown supermarket chain, a company spokesperson said it did not have a shortage of bananas but had received "a number of bananas which are not up to our high standards".

Veteran fruit and vegetable retailer in the Remuera shopping centre Jack Lum said some of the four wholesale markets for bananas had offered better quality than others during the past three weeks.

"Customers buy with their eyes, so a bit of marking they don't like, or even if it's on the green side and discoloured."

A problem with quality was denied by Dole supplier MG Marketing, Turners & Growers (Bonita), and Freshmax (Fyffes).