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TommyMacLuckie
07-28-2009, 09:31 AM
Since we've been seeing and talking about Chiquita's prices at Wal-Mart being so low I thought I'd just start a thread about it because my girlfriend came home from the French Market Produce the other night (not THE French Quarter market but the local produce place in Mandeville, LA) and said that Chiquita's were

TWENTY NINE CENTS A POUND.

That's twenty cents cheaper than Wal-Mart!

Last I saw at Wal-Mart, which was 2 months ago, they were 49 cents a pound.

At Winn Dixie the other night it was Yes, We Have No Bananas. Not one banana on the island. And they are strictly Dole. They did have the Ninos or whatever. They did have Plantains but no sticker.

I'll have to check at Rouses. They usually have Dole and then one or two other types as well as plantains.

If Wal-Mart is gonna continue to "drive prices down" why don't they just give the bananas away? Pay Chiquita whatever and give them away? They almost are.

And how is it that a fruit from so far away is getting CHEAPER? I know it's a loss leader but they don't do that with FLA oranges or LA satsumas. Why is that? Because they are grown in the USA?

Richard
07-28-2009, 09:33 AM
Supply & demand.

Jack Daw
07-28-2009, 10:04 AM
I can't believe that you really discuss Wal-mart banana prices so thoroughly.

Eric
07-28-2009, 10:14 AM
I can't believe that you really discuss Wal-mart banana prices so thoroughly.

Wow...!! :lurk: Think things got cross-threaded :ha: !! Personally, I'd pay a dollar or more for a Great Nanner :) !!
But... might get them as cheap as 29.3098080759348937679346 cents at Dombie's corner market :).

Lagniappe
07-28-2009, 11:09 AM
The discount grocers (local chains) here sell Chiquita bananas. They usually look bad .

TommyMacLuckie
07-28-2009, 05:54 PM
Eh, hell, you go in, you see the prices, it's easy to remember. It's not like remembering the license plate of a car that tried to run you off the road and sped away! It's just simply astounding to me that they are so cheap.

And part of the point is, or was, that I was only seeing Chiquita at Wal-Mart and nowhere else. I have seen them in various gas stations across Alabama. That's about it.

TommyMacLuckie
07-29-2009, 08:29 PM
Ahhhh, it pays to look closer.

Much to my chagrin, the bananas at Wal-Mart near where I live? They haven't been Chiquita for a year now. It's some company from Costa Rica. I can't remember the name but there was an email address that started with transrican...something@gmail.com

They were putting out fresh bananas though - and they were different from the bananas that were there (I happened to notice what he was doing and went and grabbed one he was tossing out and compared it to the fresh ones). Different length, width and even the curve was different.

Anyway, thought I'd make it clear I was wrong about Chiquita at Wal-Mart! The only Chiquita at Wal-Mart is Fresh Express bags of lettuce.

However - the bananas that are there now? 64 cents a pound.

Ohio'sBest
07-29-2009, 09:23 PM
My brother just told that at his Walmart they are Dole, and they are 68 cents a pound. Very over ripe brown spotted crap from Ecuador. Bagged green ones are also Dole from Ecuador and 57 cents a pound.

Bananaman88
07-30-2009, 06:30 AM
I'm pretty sure the one's I mentioned in another thread were from Costa Rica as well. Beth, do you know what company this would be?

Nicolas Naranja
07-30-2009, 08:21 AM
There is a company from costa rica that is selling bananas called Rose or Rosey or something like that. I have seen it at some of the roadside vendors.

lorax
07-30-2009, 08:49 AM
Rose, I think, but Turbana also has plantations in Costa Rica.

Bananaman88
07-30-2009, 02:13 PM
I'll double check this weekend on the name of the company but the quality is certainly not very good anymore. Apparently to Wal-Mart, the cheapest source is all that matters and if I continue to buy them without complaint then I am a part of the problem.

ewitte
07-30-2009, 07:29 PM
Most of the time I shop at HEB next to me and the bananas look a lot better than what I see in Walmart/Target.

Nicolas Naranja
07-30-2009, 07:44 PM
I got to thinking about it today when I was at the store and you know who is making an absolute killing on bananas is the 7-11s and vendors at the airports. One finger cost $0.69 at 7-11 and at the airport it is like $1.50. If I could get 69 cents a finger for my bananas I'd have to guard them so they wouldn't be stolen. At 100+ fingers per bunch we are talking real money.

ewitte
07-30-2009, 07:49 PM
Airports have crazy prices on everything.

TommyMacLuckie
07-30-2009, 09:00 PM
Target sells bananas? I've never seen 'em. That's hilarious! Next time I go to Target, which is almost never, I'll have a look! Ha ha...this just continues to be interesting.

Chiquita lost Wal-Mart because they wanted to pay less for 'em, so they said forget it but Dole said OK here and there but some other company said OK so...

They obviously have a cutoff cost for what they won't do. If bananas are 69 cents a pound at the store, then how much does the banana company get for them?

ewitte
07-31-2009, 06:06 AM
Probably the rate down there thats a little over $5 for a 40lb box.

Ecuador spot price is $5.40 US for 40lb cases.

Ohio'sBest
09-08-2009, 12:02 AM
Kroger prices

Plantain $1.99 a pound

Miniture reds $2.99 a pound

CValentine
09-08-2009, 07:51 AM
Hi!

Bananas .39 a pound here @ Commissary , .49 a pound here HEB & Wal-Mart.
Only Dole & DelMonte available.

THX! ~Cheryl

lorax
09-08-2009, 12:59 PM
For September,

Bananas:

Full raceme most types, $1 US to $1.50
Hand, most types, anywhere between 25 cents and $1.50
Fingers, Pisang Klotek, 20 cents for three or the whole hand for 50 cents.

Plantains:

Full raceme Cien Libras or Kichua Sweet $4-6 US
Hand Cien Libras $2
Hand Kichua Sweet $2.50
Finger 10 cents

Ecuador spot price for 40lb case of Gran Nain or Cavendish holding steady at $5.40


BTW, Cheryl, love the new sig. What if he comes at you with a pointéd stick?

sandy0225
09-08-2009, 06:42 PM
at $5.40 a case for 40 lbs there's not really a lot of markup on these is there? I think I'll stick with selling tomatoes at the farmers market....

TommyMacLuckie
09-08-2009, 11:06 PM
It's very odd but in places I have not seen Chiquita bananas for a while I've started seeing them. As well as Dole. I guess it really is all about the least amount of money. I'd really like to know if there was a way to believe the PLUs about what plants they are using but nothing ever says. So they could be Grand Nain, Robusta, Williams....what else? I'm drawing a blank. Aren't there five commercial cavendish bananas that are used that all essentially look and taste the same?

At least, that's how I've read things here and there.

Nicolas Naranja
09-09-2009, 03:05 PM
I think Chiquita is still trying to recover from poor weather 11-12 months ago and I think they also had some issue with their reefer shipper going bankrupt.

Bananaman88
09-09-2009, 06:57 PM
Tommy,

I think 'Valerie' might be the other you are thinking of.

planetrj
09-17-2009, 04:20 AM
I'm thinking there's something odd going on, because we're getting bananas right now that look like smaller French Horns, and they are just too big to eat in one sitting, but they taste like a plantain if you don't get them completely ripened with black spots. Terrible, because it seems whatever the crop is being hauled in right now, must be one of those failed FHIA projects like what happened to the Russet potato back in the 80's. Bland and gigantic. Sad.

Nicolas Naranja
09-17-2009, 10:34 AM
Those big monstrosities don't really taste that great ripe, but it is like 8"+ of pure blandness. They do however taste pretty good baked

austinl01
09-17-2009, 10:39 AM
Rhetorical question: Why is it so hard to get good tasting bananas?

CValentine
09-17-2009, 10:41 AM
Found these at Wal-Mart last night for .49 cents a #.
Guatamalan & Honduran Bananas...
http://www.bananas.org/gallery/watermark.php?file=23198&size=1 (http://www.bananas.org/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=23198)http://www.bananas.org/gallery/watermark.php?file=23197&size=1 (http://www.bananas.org/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=23197)
~Cheryl

Nicolas Naranja
09-17-2009, 10:46 AM
I still think that something has changed with the way bananas are (mis)handled during transport and storage. I think the long term refrigerated storage hurts their flavor.

lorax
09-17-2009, 01:14 PM
There's that, and there's also the increased spraying schedule in the South American and a few of the Central American plantations. Sigatoka has been a big problem this year for everybody, especially coastally, and they've basically tripled up their spraying regimens. Which of course affects fruit flavour - mmmm, fungicides!

Equally, for the Ecuadorean crops especially, the protracted labour dispute has led to the hiring of unskilled banana workers, so the rate of mishandling and crop bruising has gone up exponentially.

austinl01
09-17-2009, 01:16 PM
I have noticed more bruising on the fruit this year compared to last.

Nicolas Naranja
09-17-2009, 01:49 PM
I've also seen a lot of improperly cooled fruit with the gray peel. You bring up a good point about fungicides though. Azoxystrobin has only been used within the last decade or so, and not only is it used during the season but it is used postharvest.


I'll have to try to find Organic and Conventional bananas from the same country to see if there is a taste difference

adrift
09-17-2009, 04:31 PM
Found these at Wal-Mart last night for .49 cents a #.
~Cheryl

Interesting. Yesterday they were 69 cents / Lb at Wal-Mart in central FL, same as they were @ Publix late last week. (which surprised me)


I have noticed more bruising on the fruit this year compared to last.

I've noticed the opposite. Must be someone in the supply chain your way is ham fisted.

austinl01
09-17-2009, 05:51 PM
Doles bananas were 64 cents at Wal-Mart yesterday here in the suburbs of Little Rock. They never carry Chiquita anywhere around here.

Nicolas Naranja
09-18-2009, 08:43 AM
I went to Whole Foods last night

Chiquita from Guatemala $0.69
Earth University from Costa Rica $0.69
Organic Chiquita from Ecuador $0.99


Also, while no means scientific the organic bananas actually tasted like Bananas, which was in contrast to the rather dull taste of the conventional banana. Granted it didn't taste like the Cavendish fruit that I grow, but it was a near approximation. I'm quite pleased.

coast crab
10-02-2009, 10:08 AM
These Chiquitas are probably cheap, and probably not organic.....

<a href=http://www.bananas.org/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=23790&ppuser=5745><img src=http://www.bananas.org/gallery/watermark.php?file=24229 border=0></a>

lorax
10-02-2009, 02:45 PM
LOLOLOL! I want one. Then again, I also want a pair of these.

http://www.theglasgowstory.com/images/TGSE01085_s.jpg

cvining
10-07-2009, 10:06 PM
Wow. Me too, I want one.