That's bananas! Why it might be harder or pricier to find some brands in grocery stores

Natalie Stechyson · CBC News

· Posted: Jun 06, 2025 6:33 PM EDT | Last Updated: 41 minutes ago

Potential price hikes astatine the market store unrelated to tariffs oregon adjacent inflation? In this economy?

Yes, it's bananas. No, literally: this communicative is about bananas.

Fruit elephantine Chiquita is 1 of the top brands starring the planetary banana industry, and its bananas are sold in 47 countries, including Canada, according to its astir recent sustainability report. And Canada maintains a dependable import proviso of the popular and generally affordable fruit, according to Statistics Canada.

But now, a labour dispute astatine Chiquita's Panama determination could perchance mean fewer bananas and higher prices astatine the market store. Experts accidental it highlights the fragility of the planetary proviso concatenation and however planetary events tin impact what is disposable astatine your section stores.

Chiquita is the largest supplier of bananas to the U.S., and Panama is the largest banana-producing country, so there volition beryllium an accrued request successful the U.S. for different banana sources specified arsenic Dole, said Michael von Massow, a prof of nutrient agriculture and assets economics astatine the University of Guelph successful Ontario.

"It could mean less bananas successful Canada, which could rise the price," von Massow told CBC News.

Imported bananas are mostly ripened successful Canadian distribution centres, which means the concern successful Panama won't impact inventory close away, von Massow explained.

"But it could beryllium comparatively rapidly that we commencement to consciousness the interaction of the removal of those bananas from the marketplace."

WATCH | Canadian nutrient prices spike:

Chiquita fires Panama unit amid strikes

On Monday, Panama's labour curate said Chiquita Panama's administrative unit person near the state and the steadfast volition question authorization from the authorities to occurrence its remaining unit successful Panama.

Last month, the company fired about 5,000 of its approximately 6,500 employees successful the country in effect to a onslaught astatine its banana farms that began successful April.

Thousands of banana workers person gone connected onslaught arsenic portion of a broader onslaught enactment crossed Panama. Protests and roadblocks person stretched crossed the state arsenic workers, including teachers, operation workers and different unions march to protestation respective issues including a societal information betterment they accidental volition impact their aboriginal pensions.

Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino called the onslaught amerciable and illegitimate.

In precocious May, Chiquita Panama estimated its losses from the strikes at around $75 cardinal US.

Unions and NGOs person decried the firings. On Friday, Washington-based NGO Global Labor Justice called connected Chiquita to "immediately reinstate" its farm workers successful Panama, calling the determination retaliatory. The International Union of Food Workers said it had "grave concerns" astir the firings.

Still, successful presumption of the interaction connected consumers, the banana marketplace isn't monopolized, said Joel Gregoire, associate manager of food and drink at Toronto-based market quality bureau Mintel. Major players similar Dole and Del Monte are besides successful the space.

This "makes it hard to ideate a script wherever Canadian shoppers can't find bananas astatine all," helium told CBC News.

"If the labour disruption continues for an extended period, it could make an accidental for different companies to summation marketplace stock successful Canada." 

'Any disruption' apt to beryllium noticed

The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the fragility of planetary proviso chains for galore shoppers, Gregoire explained. Now, with the fluctuating tariff landscape, consumers are erstwhile again being reminded of these vulnerabilities, and helium says the concern with Chiquita could service arsenic different (albeit smaller) example.

"Bananas are a staple for galore households, and immoderate disruption successful the proviso concatenation is apt to beryllium noticed, peculiarly astatine retailers that trust heavy connected Chiquita arsenic a supplier," helium said.

As Statistics Canada notes, bananas have been mostly little costly compared to different fruit. In April, for instance, the mean terms for bananas was $1.66 per kilogram. Apples, by comparison, were $5.85 per kilogram, oranges were $4.56, and pears were $5.14.

They're besides popular. Bananas topped the database of each fresh fruits disposable for consumption to Canadians successful 2023, measured by Agriculture Canada successful kilogram per person, making up 21 per cent of the full stock of disposable effect (followed by melons, apples and oranges).

In 2023, bananas were the third-most imported caller effect into Canada by commodity, coming successful conscionable down grapes and strawberries.

Food analysts were already expecting immoderate semipermanent disruption to planetary banana accumulation earlier Chiquita's labour dispute, von Massow said, pointing to climate change, accrued utmost upwind and diseases affecting banana crops.

"There are a assortment of risks successful the proviso chain, and immoderate 1 of them tin rear their caput and origin a short-term disruption."

Not conscionable bananas, but coffee, too

Meanwhile, different quality (and different deed to your breakfast) is besides highlighting how global events can impact what's disposable connected store shelves.

Shoppers at Loblaw Cos. Ltd.'s stores volition soon nary longer beryllium capable to purchase Folgers-brand products aft a pricing quality prompted the grocer to propulsion them from its shelves. 

In an email sent to retailers connected Wednesday and viewed by The Canadian Press, Loblaw said it decided to delist each Folgers products aft talks with the java maker's shaper couldn't lick the impasse.

Folgers is owned by Ohio-based J.M. Smucker Co., which raised the price of its java offerings both past June and October successful effect to higher costs it is facing. 

In February, the institution attributed a tiny emergence successful its net income successful the home retail java segment — its biggest gross generator — to the higher prices of its Folgers and Café Bustelo java brands. President and CEO Mark Smucker told analysts connected the company's quarterly net telephone that much java terms increases were apt connected the way.

Loblaw spokesperson Catherine Thomas told The Canadian Press that Folgers' projected outgo increases were "unreasonable and unjustified based connected underlying costs." She said that Loblaw expects astir of its stores to beryllium retired of banal of Folgers products implicit the adjacent week oregon two.

Experts accidental higher java prices are successful portion owed to caller utmost upwind and changes successful temperature, which person caused immoderate producers to acquisition little yields.

Gavin Fridell, a prof of planetary improvement studies astatine Saint Mary's University, told CBC News Manitoba past period that java prices globally are the highest they've been successful implicit 50 years due to the fact that of droughts and adust conditions.