Del Monte raises prices of fresh cuts

Fresh Del Monte Produce has announced increases in the price of its fresh-cut products to help offset rising costs. Speaking at an earnings call for the second financial quarter, Mohammad Abu-Ghazaleh responded to a question about the impact of unprecedented supply chain pressures and rising costs on banana growers and marketers:

“We have taken several steps by increasing the fresh cut price. We have implemented price increases in the last couple of months to offset some of this cost increase, which has helped us somehow.”

He added:

“And as we go forward, we are looking at different ways to reduce the impact of the cost as well as hoping to be able to reach with our customers, ways to mitigate these cost increases by increasing our prices as well.”

Speaking about the challenges facing banana growers, Abu-Ghazaleh said:

“We know that there is a pressure on the pricing in the banana market because of the supply and because of the leverage of the retailers over the industry players. And it’s unfortunate that we cannot find a mutual way to allow producers and marketers to survive in this kind of environment.”

Del Monte last week posted a strong second financial quarter that saw a big uptick in gross profit, which the company has attributed to relaxed restrictions on social gatherings in key markets. In the quarter ended July 2, Del Monte recorded a 40% rise in gross profits to US$110 million.