Rising costs affect Colombian banana producers

Colombia's banana sector, which produced 2.6 million tonnes in 2023, faces significant challenges due to rising production costs and prices. This rise, driven by higher prices in European supermarkets, has pushed up transport, labour and input costs, affecting producers' profitability.

 

With more than 293,000 direct and indirect jobs and the livelihoods of 36,000 families, this industry is vital to the Colombian economy. Labour can account for up to 50% of the total cost in some cases, highlighting the importance of training and skills development for workers, further increasing costs.

 

In addition, factors such as the war between Russia and Ukraine and adverse weather events have raised input prices. Increasing insecurity in several Latin American countries has also forced companies to invest more in security, due to the lack of government guarantees.

 

To address these challenges, the banana sector is adopting sustainable methods to improve crop efficiency and produce higher quality bananas. These strategies aim to reduce marketing costs and ensure the profitability and sustainability of banana farming in Colombia, even in an increasingly challenging economic and climatic environment.