Relative stability on generally complicated papaya market

Specialized in exotic fruit, Tropibana takes stock of the current papaya market, looking more particularly at the Brazilian variety Formosa, which is one of its flagship products transported by air, and the “most revalued on the market.” The current context is generally complicated for all products, but sales are holding up well with the approaching festive season for this fruit that is increasingly recognized for its nutritional benefits.

Stable sales despite a complicated market
This year, “the market is relatively stable despite a rather complicated context,” explains François Moran. More consumers have reverted to basic and low-priced products due to inflation, but the Formosa papaya remains a product that is “very well received.” The fact that it is transported by air means that the delivery cost is “relatively high”, but it retains all its freshness. “We work between 2 and 4 pallets per week. Grades 3 and 4 are usually the most popular, but we mainly do grade 3 because we have a very high demand from Asia.”

In terms of prices, airplane papayas fluctuate between 3.50 and 4 €/kg [3.8 and 4.4 USD/kg], compared with 2/2.20€ [2.2/2.4USD] for first-price papayas by container from the Canaries, whose production tends to increase every year.