The United States continues to suffer a period of high prices caused by inflation, and these days Trader Joe’s customers are feeling it, because the price of bananas increased for the first time in decades.
An AP report notes that Trader Joe’s raised the price of a single banana to 23 cents, an increase of 4 cents or 21%, which has caused an uproar among its customers because the price had remained unchanged for more than 20 years.
“We only change our prices when our costs change, and after maintaining our price for bananas at 19 cents each for more than two decades, we have reached a point where this change is necessary,” said a Trader Joe’s spokesperson. in Monrovia, California.
For many years, bananas had remained relatively affordable with average prices never exceeding 80 cents per pound (0.45 kilograms), unlike other foods more affected by inflation.
In the U.S., the cost of a pound of bananas averaged about 63 cents last month, which is just 3 cents more than a decade ago, according to official data. The price of bananas suffered spikes during the Covid pandemic, but prices fell again in 2023, to remain an affordable fruit.
“Bananas are a very popular fruit with consumers, so retailers are trying to keep prices low,” Neil Saunders, CEO of research firm GlobalData, told AP. “However, prices can’t defy gravity forever and now we’re starting to see retailers like Trader Joe’s make adjustments.”
Among the reasons for these increases is the increasing cost of growing bananas, due to the prices of fertilizers, pesticides and transportation that have increased with general inflation.
In addition, the demand for bananas has increased, creating an imbalance in supply, due to the pressures of higher costs for exporters, diseases that affect the plants and unfavorable weather conditions.
The World Banana Forum, part of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, expects food prices and inflation in general to increase as temperatures rise with climate change.
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