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Time of India
3 hours ago
- Business
- Time of India
Why bananas may soon be a luxury in America; Chiquita's layoffs in Panama hold the answer
Chiquita , one of the United States' major banana suppliers, has announced that its administrative staff in Panama left the country on June 2 and that the company plans to lay off the remaining local workforce. This decision follows a lengthy labor dispute, during which Chiquita fired nearly 5,000 employees after they went on strike over social benefits and pension issues. These events have already begun to impact banana exports. Banana cultivation has also been affected by climate change, with rising temperatures, extreme weather events, and the spread of plant diseases like Fusarium wilt (also known as Panama disease) threatening yields. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Semua yang Perlu Anda Ketahui Tentang Limfoma Limfoma Pelajari Undo A report by Christian Aid highlights that, due to climate-related factors, up to 60% of banana-growing areas in Latin America could become unsuitable for cultivation by 2080. Furthermore, bananas are perishable, making it more challenging to stockpile them, and any delays in transportation can result in significant losses. Live Events These factors suggest that bananas may become less available in North American stores, especially after the expected decrease in Chiquita products. How are the industries dealing with it? Chiquita dominates nearly 90% of banana production in Panama and also operates farms in Costa Rica, Honduras, Guatemala, Ecuador, Colombia, Nicaragua, Mexico, and Peru. However, other major players like Dole and Del Monte also cultivate bananas in Panama and Latin America, potentially increasing their presence in US markets. Additionally, brands such as Bonita Bananas from Ecuador and Turbana from Colombia may become more prominent, though only time will reveal the market dynamics. In response to these challenges, companies like Chiquita are investing in research to develop disease-resistant banana varieties. One such initiative is the development of the "Yelloway One" banana, which may tolerate diseases like Fusarium wilt and Black Sigatoka. However, these solutions are still in the research phase and may take years to be widely implemented. Will there be a shortage of bananas in US stores? Banana supplies to the US are influenced by various factors such as weather conditions, labor challenges, and production levels in key growing regions. While an immediate price surge is unlikely, consumers may start to notice higher prices and fewer bananas on store shelves in the coming months. As the US heavily relies on banana imports, with approximately 75% of bananas entering through East and Gulf Coast ports. Recent labor strikes at these ports have disrupted the flow of bananas, which may lead to shortages.
Telegraph
12-03-2025
- Health
- Telegraph
The new super bananas that get old
Gene editing has long been touted as one of the next frontiers of food production, but the future is finally here. Tropic, a biotech firm based near Norwich, is launching a revolutionary product this month: the non-browning banana. After 10,000 years of humans enduring bananas that go brown, our ingenuity has finally provided a solution. The new variant of the fruit has taken years of research. Using a proprietary technique called Geigs (gene editing induced gene silencing), similar to Crispr (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats), Tropic has modified the Cavendish banana – the variety that comprises 99 per cent of all the bananas eaten in the UK – so its flesh does not go brown. Until now, bananas have been unwelcome guests in a fruit salad, becoming unappealingly sludgy within minutes of being undressed. 'They have the same taste, smell, sweetness profile, the same everything, except that the flesh doesn't go brown as quickly, which means you can add them to fruit salads and cut-fruit products, opening up a huge new market,' says Gilad Gershon, Tropic's co-founder. 'This is very exciting to the industry as, historically, you wouldn't include bananas, which are very popular fruits, in a prepared fruit selection in a store, because they go brown too quickly.' Browning is triggered by polyphenol oxidase, an enzyme that catalyses the oxidation of certain compounds in the banana's flesh. By 'cutting out' the genes responsible for the enzyme, Tropic's scientists have slowed the browning process. This gene editing is different from other forms of genetic modification, in which new genes are introduced from other species, and typically comes with fewer regulatory obstacles. Tropic says the change only affects the colour, it won't change the sweetness. Your banana will still get old, it just won't get so brown. Tropic predicts the non-browning banana – which has been approved in the United States and Canada, and it hopes soon in the UK – will reduce food waste and save millions of tons in carbon emissions. This is only the first in a series of edited bananas Tropic has planned. By the end of this year, it also hopes to release its extended-shelf-life bananas, which stay green for up to 10 days longer, making them easier to transport. Tropic is also working on versions that are resistant to Panama and Black Sigatoka disease. Any talk of 'Frankenfruit' brings out the sceptics. But Cavendish bananas are already the mutant children of centuries of tinkering. They do not produce seeds, and are instead propagated from cuttings so they are all practically identical, making them extremely vulnerable to diseases. Tropic's bananas are not the first gene-edited product – a Crispr-edited tomato has been on sale in Japan since 2021 and edited soybeans are also available – and they certainly will not be the last. But the banana is Britain's most popular supermarket item, a green and yellow emblem of globalisation: cheap, tasty, nutritious and amusing to eat. It has quietly achieved supremacy while traditional British crops have fallen by the wayside. Over the past 50 years, the average consumption of turnips has plummeted, while banana consumption has more than doubled. Today, British households get through around 25kg of them per year. For Tropic and the other companies busily editing fruit and veg, the potential market is too big to ignore. When it comes to bananas, it pays to stay ahead of the curve. This week's specials Portable cooking just gained a new status symbol. Somerset Grill Co 's Asado Go! is a wood-fired grill small enough to be carried around. Just the thing for turning your corner of the beach into San Sebastian (£895). Entries are now open for the British Library 's Food Season Awards, which this year include a new prize for writing, sponsored by the online magazine Vittles. The winner will receive £1,500 and access to the library's collections. Harvey Nichols is making a play for the north London crowd by welcoming Trullo, the Islington Italian, for a three-month residency. Among the new dishes will be tagliarini with caviar. Patsy and Edina would approve.
