In recent days, thousands of boxes of bananas have not been exported due to a workers’ strike in the banana farms of Bocas del Toro, Panama, which led to road closures.

The strike is in response to the repeal of Law 462 of the Social Security Fund (CSS), which is related to the social security system. Several local media outlets have reported on the situation, highlighting the impact on the country’s primary export product.

Chiquita Panama, the company responsible for banana production in the region, issued a statement last week urging workers to resume their activities to protect the fruit and ensure proper harvesting, packing, and export.

“It has reached an irreversible point where the damage suffered by the plantation not only results in the loss of fruit that has not been harvested and packed for export, but future harvests have been affected,” the company said.

Banana production is the country's main export item, representing 17.6% of total exports in the first months of the year.

Export banana losses

Already 900,000 boxes of bananas destined for export have been lost and losses exceed US$10 million.

"These figures continue to grow as the suspension of work on the farms is prolonged. Each day without harvest represents an irrecoverable loss in terms of fruit, because its perishable nature cannot be stored or postponed for the next harvest," said the company.

Chiquita Panama indicated that it respects the political decisions of its workers, but also stressed the importance of “protecting an activity that has been, for decades, an engine of development for the province of Bocas del Toro and a livelihood for thousands of Panamanian families”.

But he reiterated that time is a determining factor, “and every day without attention, the damage to a vital activity for Bocas del Toro and for the main export item of the country worsens”.

Meeting with authorities

Panama's president, José Raúl Mulino, said he will meet with the owner of Chiquita.

During his weekly conference on May 8, he said he hopes the situation does not bring bad news for Panama and the banana industry.

In the appointment, scheduled for the same afternoon, he hopes to analyze the situation and the non-closure of banana farms. "There is no reason for a sector of the banana farms in Bocas del Toro to be paralyzed," he said.

The Union of Banana Workers of Bocas del Toro had been on an indefinite strike for more than 11 days, and only in the first week, the company lost 450,000 boxes of bananas.

Mulino criticized the stoppage, pointing out that the recent reform package does not affect the sector, so the strike is unfounded and could have serious consequences.

“The banana sector is not affected either, this benefit is guaranteed, there is no reason for a sector of banana farms in Bocas del Toro to be paralyzed, this is a tremendous, not only to them who will be unemployed soon if this continues like this, but to the province,” he warned.