Litchi: The late start to the export season in the Indian Ocean caused serious changes in the traditional profile of the litchi market in December. The arrival of the first ships from Madagascar a few days before Christmas allowed broader distribution of air-freighted litchi during the first fortnight. The first fruits to arrive by sea were sold in an atmosphere of strong pressure as there was very little time to get the produce on the shelves before Christmas. The cargoes of the first two ships sold rapidly at higher prices than in 2005 and then those of the next two ran up against decreased demand between Christmas and the New Year, resulting in a fall in prices. After the poor results in 2005-2006, the auspices seem to be better for the first part of the 2006-2007 season. Mango: Following the collapse of the European mango market at the end of November, the slump took firm hold in December. The over-large quantities shipped by Brazil together with arrivals from Ecuador and the increase in volumes from Peru resulted in the uninterrupted flooding of the market. Although demand increased, it was not sufficient to handle the quantities released on the market, thus keeping prices at an exceptionally low level. Although the 'Tommy Atkins' fruits forming most of the supplies were hit head-on by this imbalance, 'Kent' did not withstand market pressure for long and prices worsened steadily. The air mango market also suffered considerable variations but nothing like those affecting the sea fruits. Pineapple: Business is generally brisker and prices more advantageous in December than in all the other months of the year. This year, it was marked more by a decrease in total supplies which sold quite well in spite of a few problems of quality. Supplies on the air-freighted pineapple were also small and of uneven quality. The situation was more profitable for 'Victoria', especially in the last two weeks of the month, but here again the small volumes available did not really all