Litchi: The European litchi market was fairly fluid in June, with quite small volumes traded. Most supplies are from Thailand at this time of year and consist of destemmed, sulphur-treated fruits shipped by sea. A few batches from China and Mexico occasionally complemented the Thai fruits. Litchi consumption is marginal in this season and seemed even smaller than in previous years. Mango: Mangoes from West African countries clearly dominated European market supply in June. However, the gradual ceasing of shipments from Côte d'Ivoire and Burkina Faso was not enough to stimulate the market. Prices remained stable but at a level similar to that of May. They only rose slightly at the end of the period when the Senegalese export season began. Pineapple: June was particularly difficult for pineapple sector operators. The arrival of large volumes of 'Sweet' from Latin America when demand was focused on the season's fruits disturbed sales considerably throughout the month. The situation was no better for air pineapple as the fruits were too uneven and demand too small to handle the fairly small quantities. The return of the season's fruits had an even more damaging effect on the 'Victoria' market as there was lack of interest in small exotics in general and in 'Victoria' in particular. Sea freight: Despite a fall in chartering activity to seasonal norms during June, demand for the top-end tonnage was strong enough for owners and operators to maintain TC fixture levels well over the 100c/cbft mark. Although box rates on voyage fixtures were also recorded at historic calendar highs, the TCE yield on the less fuel-efficient units only matched average TCE returns of recent years because of bunker prices that are almost double those of last year.