Although the situation has remained difficult, most of the northern European markets have shown signs of improvement. However, supply has remained comparatively stable and slightly larger than average. A slow decrease in the volumes from the West Indies has begun. However, shipments from Africa have continued to be fairly substantial and, above all, those from dollar suppliers have remained large. The deficit in Costa Rican fruits has been more than compensated by above average quantities from Colombia and Ecuador. Spot supplies are still available in Italy and to a lesser degree in northern Europe but are becoming more rare. However, sales have been more dynamic than in preceding weeks thanks to a large number of promotion operations in most EU countries. Furthermore, competition from the season's fruits is still practically nonexistent, with banana remaining the cheapest fruit on the market except in Spain and to a lesser extent in Italy. In this context, prices have stabilised but are still not in line with the official prices in certain countries. Furthermore, the recovery in demand has made it possible to clear a fair proportion of stocks