British-Ecuadorian tropical fruit company BanaBay has secured a Middle Eastern contract that will see banana shipments to Saudi Arabia, as consumer demand and purchasing power grows in the country.

The Hussain al Qurashi Group has taken delivery of the first consignment of premium Ecuadorian BanaBay bananas and will be marketing the fruit to leading supermarkets and hypermarkets.

According to a BanaBay release, the Hussain al Qurashi Group sources products from Europe, Africa, North America, New Zealand, Australia, China, India and Pakistan, and exports to Gulf Cooperation Council countries with more than 25 fresh produce outlets across the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

"This is an exciting new partnership in Saudi Arabia which again demonstrates the expanding reach and development of the BanaBay brand across the globe," Harley Williams, BanaBay business development manager, says in the release.

This is the latest market development for BanaBay which has experienced major growth over the last year in terms of portfolio expansions and securing new international contracts.

The Saudi deal follows new ties in Russia announced in May and a new contract supplying Libyan-based fruit importer last August. It also expanded operations in China during 2014 with a Shanghai office opening and added pineapples and mangoes to its portfolio.

This latest contract is part of the company’s strategy to keep pace with the increasing number of habitual fruit buyers in the Middle East.

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