European market, December 2005 : indicators. Banana, avocado, orange, grapefruit, easy peelers, litchi, mango, pineapple, sea freight

Banana: The market finished an exceptional 2005 in a very satisfactory manner, even though it stumbled slightly this month. Sales are traditionally slow at this time of year but were even slower because of the cold weather. However, prices held at a level significantly higher than average because total arrivals were particularly limited. Shipments decreased noticeably from both the West Indies and Africa. Avocado: The end of the year was difficult with a heavy, ultra-competitive market because of increased shipments from Chile. Supplies consisted mainly of 'Hass' (with large volumes shipped from Chile, Mexico and to a lesser extent from Spain) as the quantity of green varieties was limited because of the Israeli production shortfall. End-of-year promotion operations did not succeed in clearing increasing stocks. The average price was about 10% lower than average-a disaster for the Latin American origins with high production costs. Orange: Market performance was satisfactory once again. Steady demand matched supplies that were down by about 15% as a result of limited 'Naveline' and 'Navel' production in Spain this season. Prices remained about 30% higher than average. Grapefruit: The market was very sluggish even though the deficit was more marked than last year. The strong increase in the arrivals of Turkish fruits hardly relieved the overall shortage resulting from the lack of fruits from Florida. Demand is generally slow during this period when the focus is on exotics but it was particularly lack-lustre this year. The average price for the month was high and similar to last year's but the volumes marketed were down by about 15%. Easy peelers: The only average quantities available at production stage in the second part of the season led to forecasting good performance in December. However, the market was very disappointing, as is shown by a monthly price distinctly lower than average. Demand was brisk but supplies were larger than expected because of the fragility