Bananas and Food Security - Bioversity International

54 Les productions bananières / Bananas and food security – Session 1
Table 8. Banana marketing by cultivar in 15 CEASAs during 1995.
Cultivars (%)
City Prata Nanica Terra Maçã Others Total
Belém1 94.3 2.0 0.0 3.7 0.0 100.0
Fortaleza2 100.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 100.0
Campina Grande 88.2 10.7 0.6 0.4 0.0 100.0
João Pessoa 95.9 1.8 0.7 1.5 0.0 100.0
Recife 90.5 0.0 9.5 0.0 0.0 100.0
Alagoas 95.7 0.0 4.3 0.0 0.0 100.0
Salvador 74.5 1.4 24.1 0.0 0.0 100.0
Belo Horizonte 48.7 47.1 0.7 3.3 0.2 100.0
Vitória 62.5 0.0 37.5 0.0 0.0 100.0
Rio de Janeiro 72.0 27.9 0.1 0.0 0.0 100.0
São Paulo3 9.7 90.0 0.3 0.0 0.0 100.0
Curitiba 1.2 94.8 0.4 3.5 0.0 100.0
Florianópolis 55.4 43.8 0.0 0.8 0.0 100.0
Porto Alegre 35.7 60.3 0.0 4.0 0.0 100.0
Brasília 37.0 54.5 16 4.1 0.8 100.0
TOTAL 51.0 44.3 3.1 1.4 0.2 100.0
Source: Mascarenhas, 1997.
1 Data from the state of Para include both cultivars Prata and Terra.
2 Information provided only about the variety most sold.
3 CEAGESP (São Paulo CEASA) did not provide data for the cultivar Maçã.
de Janeiro, the behaviour of banana prices from May to September is similar to that
observed for Belo Horizonte, when prices are higher than the annual average. At other
times the banana price remains below the average. Regarding São Paulo, the behaviour
of banana prices shows a more stable pattern, with small variations from the average.
Prices for the cultivar Nanica, for the cities of Belo Horizonte, Rio de Janeiro and São
Paulo are shown in Figure 5. Note that from July to October banana prices in all three
cities are above average. From November to March the situation is the opposite, with
below-average prices.
Because of the large quantity of plantains grown in Salvador, a seasonal analysis was
carried out of plantain prices in that city (Figure 6). Data show a well-defined pattern:
below-average prices from January to June, while in the second half of the year prices
remain above average.
According to Souza et al. (1995), banana prices in southern and south-eastern Brazil
are determined by the state of São Paulo. These authors also suggest that São Paulo acts
as a price controller for bananas because it is the primary banana consumer in Brazil
and the largest exporting state in the country, besides being one of the biggest banana
producing states. According to the same authors, the behaviour of the monthly average