Banana: Although the worst was feared, the market finally behaved very well. Shipments from Africa and the West Indies were fairly abundant, as forecast. Nevertheless, export flows were particularly active because of a shortage of dollar bananas, especially in the north of the European Union (production losses in Costa Rica). Local demand was also lively thanks to a large number of promotion operations. Avocado: The market behaved particularly well. Demand was supported by the always excellent promotion operations run during this period of the year and record prices were paid for volumes strongly up on the preceding months, and only 10% down on an average season. Orange: Orange prices displayed their usual end-of-year dip. However, although performance was much poorer than last year, the level was average in terms of both price and volume. The supply of Spanish fruits was particularly weak during the second half of the month. Demand also recovered slightly. Grapefruit: The grapefruit market held no surprises for operators. As every year, the slowing of business started in mid-November and the switch to exotic fruits continued at the beginning of December. Performance was nevertheless average in terms of both price and volume and distinctly better than in 2001. Easy peelers: Overall performance was very good with both volumes and prices up in comparison with the preceding seasons. The balance is particularly positive for Spain because of the high level of quality even though the season is well advanced. In this context, competing origins found it difficult to hold a position. This was especially true for Morocco, penalised by a late entry to the market and sometimes-uneven quality. Litchi: The litchi import season gathered momentum in December with the first arrivals by sea from Madagascar. The considerable availability of 'sea' fruits sold at lower prices soon led to the end of imports by air from Mauritius, South Africa and Madagascar. Only Réunion continued its sh