In This Article
Subscribe to National Updates
Amy Sancetta/AP
Rising Prices, Fungus Threaten U.S. Banana Supply
by
Rachel Balik
Rising prices and the spread of a fungus may make bananas a rare commodity for Americans in future.
30-Second Summary
Dan Koeppel, author of “Banana: The Fate of the Fruit That Changed the World,” predicts that rising banana prices combined with the spread of a fungus that is damaging crops will leave Americans searching for some other garnish to put in their cereal. He warns, “The banana is a living organism. It can get sick, and since bananas all come from the same gene pool, a virulent enough malady could wipe out the world’s commercial banana crop in a matter of years.”
Fear erupted a few years ago when Panama Disease Race 4 surfaced in Asia, but the International Banana Association argued that, “It is far from certain that Panama Disease Race 4 will spread to Latin America.” Other optimists suggest that even if the disease wipes out the species of banana we currently ingest, the Cavendish, a replacement species can be found among the 300 other varieties.
But dispelling fears about disease does little to reverse current economic conditions. Even if we continue to have healthy bananas, we should expect to pay more for them.
Fear erupted a few years ago when Panama Disease Race 4 surfaced in Asia, but the International Banana Association argued that, “It is far from certain that Panama Disease Race 4 will spread to Latin America.” Other optimists suggest that even if the disease wipes out the species of banana we currently ingest, the Cavendish, a replacement species can be found among the 300 other varieties.
But dispelling fears about disease does little to reverse current economic conditions. Even if we continue to have healthy bananas, we should expect to pay more for them.
Headline Link: ‘Yes, We Will Have No Bananas’
Dan Koeppel, author of “Banana: The Fate of the Fruit That Changed the World,” writes that bananas may soon be sold for $1 a pound. Cheap labor in South America has previously kept banana prices low. But the higher cost of oil and the recent floods in Ecuador have led to a rise in price. Worse still, Koeppel predicts that a banana-destroying fungus will make its way to South America in the next 5–10 years to devastating effect: “The banana is a living organism. It can get sick, and since bananas all come from the same gene pool, a virulent enough malady could wipe out the world’s commercial banana crop in a matter of years.”
Source: The New York Times
Chiquita Banana has been charging higher prices for bananas this past year, but the fruit company reported that it expects “a significant loss” in the third quarter. Chiquita attributes some of the difficulty to poor weather conditions in Central America that have made procuring and shipping the fruit more costly.
Source: MarketWatch
Background: The rise of banana prices and the threat of fungus
Last year, Chiquita was in a dispute with a Panamanian cooperative that supplied five percent of the corporation’s Latin American bananas. Chiquita was finally able to strike a deal with the cooperative agreeing to pay a price increase of a dollar per 19.2 kilogram box.
Source: Business Courier
In 2005, ABC reported that Panama Disease Race Four was circulating in Southeast Asia, Australia and Indonesia. It was at this point that scientists first began to fear that the disease would reach Latin America and destroy Cavendish banana crops. While some scientists concluded that the only solution was to genetically modify the Cavendish banana, the International Banana Association said in a statement, “It is far from certain that Panama Disease Race 4 will spread to Latin America.”
Source: ABC
Analysis: Bananas will survive
Snopes.com explains and dismisses some of the rumors about possible banana extinction. It describes two threatening fungal diseases, Panama Disease and black Sigatoka. Bananas are particularly susceptible to disease, but there are more than 300 varieties of them. Although the Cavendish may be at risk, we do not have to fear never having bananas again.
Source: Snopes.com
Related Topic: Chiquita Banana’s bad ethics
In March, “five women filed a lawsuit against Chiquita Brands International. Each stated that the company contributed to her husband's death by financing the leftist guerilla group known as the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC,” findingDulcinea reported. Chiquita has been found guilty of dealing with terrorists and guerilla groups in the past, and has notoriously employed extreme methods to achieve the banana empire that enables it import and sell bananas so cheaply.
Source: findingDulcinea
Most Recent Beyond The Headlines
© 2012 Dulcinea Media, Inc.
