The recent dismissal of workers by Chiquita Brands’ Panamanian subsidiary marks an escalation in a labor conflict between multinational corporate operations and local labor rights, market participants tell Expana. The company announced the termination of all its seasonal daily workers on May 22, 2025, citing “unjustified abandonment of duties”, after a strike that began on April 28. The walkout, initiated in response to a controversial pension reform passed by Panama’s Congress, has already cost Chiquita an estimated $75 million and inflicted what the company describes as “irreversible damage” to banana production.
The firings follow a labor court ruling declaring the strike illegal and remarks from Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino, who warned of mass layoffs if the strike continued. Mulino defended the dismissals as a necessary step to preserve Chiquita’s operations in the region, acknowledging the economic pain but emphasizing legal compliance. The government has since declared a “state of emergency” in Bocas del Toro, the Caribbean province at the center of the dispute, where approximately 5,000 workers have reportedly been laid off. Francisco Smith, a prominent banana workers’ union representative, vowed that the strike would continue indefinitely until the government revisits the pension reforms and restores previously guaranteed benefits.
Expana released its Expana Benchmark Price (EBP) for Individually Quick Frozen (IQF) Sliced Bananas (Customer Access Only), FOB East Coast US, on May 30, 2025. According to the latest report, the price of IQF sliced bananas has increased by 3.6% compared to the previous month and on a year-over-year basis, prices have risen by 3.7%, reflecting supply and demand shifts such as the situation currently happening in Panama. An Expana source commented that, “this shift could have some impacts on banana supply and lead to short-term price increases until other places like Costa Rica and Ecuador are able to backfill this supply gap, or if there is someone else that comes into Panama and takes the place of Chiquita.”
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Written by Holly Bianchi
