Chiquita Provides Interim Price & Volume Data for Q1 2008

CINCINNATI, March 13 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Chiquita Brands International, Inc. NYSE: CQB today reported significant year-over-year increases in banana prices in all markets for January-February 2008 on flat or lower volumes. In its Fresh Express value-added salads business, the company reported meaningful year-over-year increases in both net revenue per case and volume growth in the two-month period.

"We are pleased that banana pricing remains favorable and that the U.S. value-added salads category is rebounding from slow growth a year ago," said Fernando Aguirre, chairman and chief executive officer. "At the same time, flat to lower banana volumes reflect industry-wide constraints on availability due to a series of adverse weather conditions throughout Central America and Ecuador. In addition, rising industry and other product supply costs continue to impact our results."

The company previously announced that in 2008 it expects significantly higher industry costs, especially for items such as fuel and purchased raw product, and other product supply costs totaling $120 to $135 million, net of an estimated $30 million in internal cost savings initiatives and before fuel hedging gains.

    Banana Segment

                     Year-over-Year Percentage Change(1)
               January-February 2008 vs. January-February 2007



                                                                % of Total
    CHIQUITA BANANAS                      Pricing   Volume(2)   Volume Sold

    North America                          +10%         0%          44%

    Core European Markets(3)
      U.S. dollar basis(4)                 +21%       -11%          38%
      Local currency basis                  +7%

    Asia Pacific and the Middle East(5)    +10%        -1%          15%

    Trading Markets(6)                     +19%       -53%           3%

    (1) These statistics may not be indicative of future results.

(2) Total volume sold includes all banana varieties, such as Chiquita To Go, Chiquita minis, organic bananas and plantains.

(3) The company's "core" European markets include the 27 member states of the European Union, Switzerland, Norway and Iceland.

(4) Prices on a U.S. dollar basis do not include the impact of hedging.

(5) In this region, the company primarily operates through joint ventures, and most business is invoiced in U.S. dollars.

(6) The company's trading markets are mainly European and Mediterranean countries that do not belong to the European Union.

North American banana pricing was up 10 percent year-over-year, reflecting increases in base contract prices and higher year-on-year surcharges linked to a third-party fuel price index that helps recover significantly higher costs. Banana volume sold in the region was flat due to a series of adverse weather conditions throughout Central America, as well as prolonged rainfall and major flooding throughout the banana growing areas in Ecuador, that have substantially constrained industry-wide volume availability. The above pricing figures do not include the benefit of a price surcharge in North America, which has been implemented effective with March deliveries in response to significantly higher sourcing costs during a period of tight industry supply in which the company is continuing to provide fruit to its customers in as fair and reasonable manner as possible.

Banana prices in the company's core European markets were up 7 percent year-on-year on a local currency basis (up 21 percent on a U.S. dollar basis). After having fallen 14 percent in January, volume sold in the core European markets began to recover and was down 11 percent year-over-year for the January-February 2008 period, due to the constrained industry-wide volume availability, the cancellation of lower-price contracts due to a rising cost environment, the company's strategy to maintain and favor its premium quality product and price differentiation over market share, and the timing of the year-end calendar.

In Asia Pacific and the Middle East, pricing rose 10 percent year-over- year on a U.S. dollar basis, primarily due to increased contract prices and favorable currency exchange rates, while volume fell by 1 percent year-over- year.

In the company's trading markets, which consist primarily of European and Mediterranean countries that do not belong to the European Union, pricing rose 19 percent year-over-year, while the company's volume in this region declined 53 percent, reflecting shifts in volumes to the company's North American and core European markets due to industry-wide shortages.

    Salads and Healthy Snacks Segment

                     Year-over-Year Percentage Change(1)
               January-February 2008 vs. January-February 2007

    FRESH EXPRESS RETAIL
    VALUE-ADDED SALADS            Net Revenue Per Case       Volume(2)

    North America                         +3%                   +5%

    (1)  These statistics may not be indicative of future results.

(2) Including Verdelli Farms, the total volume increase would be 13 percent.

In the Salads and Healthy Snacks segment, net revenue per case increased 3 percent year-over-year and volume of Fresh Express retail value-added salads was up 5 percent year-over-year in the two-month period (excluding volume from the October 2007 acquisition of Verdelli Farms), reflecting continuing recovery in the value-added salads category. As the company previously noted, the rate of year-over-year organic growth in volume is moderating as the category moves beyond the anniversary of the September 2006 E. coli outbreak that affected the industry. Including the Verdelli Farms volume, the company's total volume gain for salads in the January-February 2008 period was 13 percent versus year ago.

About Chiquita Brands International, Inc.

With annual revenues of approximately $4.7 billion, Chiquita Brands International, Inc. NYSE: CQB is a leading international marketer and distributor of high-quality fresh and value-added food products -- from energy-rich bananas and other fruits to nutritious blends of convenient green salads. The company's products and services are designed to win the hearts and smiles of the world's consumers by helping them enjoy healthy fresh foods. The company markets its products under the Chiquita(R) and Fresh Express(R) premium brands and other related trademarks. Chiquita employs approximately 24,000 people operating in more than 70 countries worldwide. For more information, please visit our web site at www.chiquita.com.

This press release contains certain statements that are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are subject to a number of assumptions, risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the control of Chiquita, including: cost increases and our ability to pass them through to our customers; changes in the competitive environment, following the 2006 conversion to a tariff-only banana import regime in the European Union; our ability to achieve the cost savings and other benefits anticipated from the restructuring announced in October 2007; unusual weather conditions; industry and competitive conditions; access to, and cost of, capital; product recalls and other events affecting the industry and consumer confidence in our products; the customary risks experienced by global food companies, such as the impact of product and commodity prices, food safety, currency exchange rate fluctuations, government regulations, labor relations, taxes, crop risks, political instability and terrorism; and the outcome of pending claims and governmental investigations involving the company and legal fees and other costs incurred in connection with them.

Any forward-looking statements made in this press release speak as of the date made and are not guarantees of future performance. Actual results or developments may differ materially from the expectations expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements, and the company undertakes no obligation to update any such statements. Additional information on factors that could influence Chiquita's financial results is included in its SEC filings, including its Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K.