BB&T Capital Comments on Banana Market (DOLE, FDP)

BB&T Capital is out with a report on the banana market after Cyclone Yasi hit Queensland. In a note to clients, BB&T Capital writes, "Queensland, Australia, which is the locus of the continent's banana and sugar production, was recently devastated by Category 5 Tropical Cyclone Yasi. It is unclear how much of its production has been damaged, but very substantial damage is expected. Cyclone Larry took out nearly all of the region's banana production and 50% of sugar production in 2006 and it was just a Category 4. Should the damage from Yasi be as severe as expected, we would expect the country to import once more, likely from the Philippines again. This would serve to further tighten the global market as the Philippines may divert fruit from key Asian markets such as Japan, South Korea, and Iran. Dole

and Fresh Del Monte

are the most exposed to those markets. None of the multinationals have production in Australia." At the time of posting, shares of DOLE were trading at $14.16, down 0.42% from Wednesday's close. At the time of posting, shares of FDP were trading at $26.60, up 0.15% from Wednesday's close. At the time of posting, shares of FDP