Colombian bananas grapple with low production and weakening prices

Writing and reporting by Macarena Bravo. | Lee esta noticia en Español.

The Colombian banana industry is navigating one of its most challenging periods in recent years. Adverse weather, low yields, unfavorable exchange rates, and rising input costs are putting heavy pressure on growers, industry representatives warned at Fruit Attraction in Madrid, Spain.

FreshFruitPortal.com spoke with José Francisco Zúñiga, Executive President of the Association of Banana Producers of Magdalena and La Guajira (Asbama), who confirmed that these factors have hurt both production and grower income throughout 2026.

Weather has been a major driver. Early-year flooding followed by strong winds in growing regions damaged roughly 9,880 acres of bananas, according to preliminary industry estimates, directly hitting yields.

Emerson Aguirre Medina, President of the Association of Colombian Banana Growers (Augura), said the sector's production fell nearly seven percent year-on-year in August.

Industry representatives concur that overall nationwide productivity has dropped by nearly 20 percent.

Exchange rate pressures Colombian bananas’ profitability

The executives also pointed to the depreciation of the Colombian peso, which has cut into revenues while operational costs continue to climb.

"We're seeing lower yields and lower income, but on the flip side, growers aren't getting higher prices," Aguirre said.

He noted that this environment has severely squeezed growers' cash flow, particularly because revenues are earned in US dollars, while a significant portion of operating expenses is paid in Colombian pesos.

Stricter international market demands, rising logistics costs, security investment needs, and growing sustainability and traceability requirements further complicate the situation, Aguirre stressed.

Zúñiga emphasized that the Colombian banana sector maintains strong labor standards and adheres to strict environmental and sustainability benchmarks across farm operations.

In line with those efforts, Aguirre welcomed Fairtrade International's announcement of a price increase of over $1.00 per box on fresh Colombian bananas, but stressed that this price bump needs to extend across all buyers and retail chains.

Sector representatives stated that "prices should rise by at least $2.00 per box to help restore economic stability to the industry."

Sustainability push

The Augura representative noted that the key differentiator for Colombian bananas lies not only in the quality of the fruit reaching consumers, but also in the ethical conditions under which it is grown.

"Producing bananas becomes more difficult and complex every day, yet prices remain unresponsive," Aguirre said.

At Fruit Attraction, Colombian delegates met with importers, supermarket representatives, and development agencies, and joined panel discussions on banana production and marketing.

Both executives concluded that ongoing efforts to maintain formal, sustainable, and competitive operations must be backed by fair economic returns to protect growers' livelihoods and ensure a stable supply for the global market.

*Images are referential | Shutterstock.

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