Is the Price of Bananas Going Up? Agriculture C.E.O. Believes So

Is the price of bananas going to go up? We have been reporting on the precarious situation in which the banana industry finds itself. The cost of fertilizers has skyrocketed, so fruit production has decreased. Then there is the higher cost of fuel to access the fruit from the farms in the south and also to transport the bananas to the local markets. Reports are that increasing the minimum wage for banana laborers has also affected the industry. Currently, consumers are paying a dollar for about six bananas, but is that soon to change? News Five asked C.E.O. Servulo Baeza if there was a real possibility that the cost of bananas would increase. Here’s his response:

Servulo Baeza, C.E.O., Ministry of Agriculture, Food Security & Enterprise

Servulo Baeza

“Duane, the truth is that the cost of producing bananas has increased. And even the cost of accessing the bananas, going down south and getting them to the market – that cost has increased. So I think you will see the price will go up. I can’t tell you by how much, but obviously if the cost of producing and the cost of bringing the product to the market goes up, then obviously – I mean nobody will do something for a loss. So those people who do that for a living will certainly have to pass that on to the consumers. The banana industry on a hold is in a very precarious position right now. The cost of production has really gone up. Fertilizer is one of the main components along with – well one of the things they are also saying along with the increase or the wage for the workers going up to five dollars. So those two things have really compounded and increased the cost of production of the bananas. We went recently to visit the Moroccan ambassador because we wanted to ask for additional help – both for the citrus and for the banana industry. So we have asked them. We have officially, formerly requested that assistance and the Moroccan Government is looking at it and it would seem like it will be favourable. So hopefully in the next couple of weeks or so, we should be getting a favourable response from them.”