According to an estimate by the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (SAG), the banana plantations of the north coast of the country had losses of up to 20 million dollars, i.e. some 472 million lempiras, due to the workers' strike, which lasted more than 70 days.
The head of the SAG, Santiago Ruiz, said the losses were mainly due to the lack of fertilization and the interruption in the control of pests and irrigation caused by the strike.
According to a report of the Central Bank of Honduras (BCH), by March 8 this year banana exports amounted to 40 million dollars, by that date last year they amounted to 54.1 million.
Losses will increase because producers didn't take proper care of the farms so the product won't reach an export quality, Ruiz added.
The Banana was the second most important export product in 2017 with 522.7 million dollars, second only to coffee ($ 1.3 billion). The main buyers of this Honduran fruit are the United States and Ireland.
The country has some 13,500 hectares devoted to producing bananas and the sector generates 25 thousand direct and indirect jobs.
In 2016, the country's banana exports amounted to 509 million dollars, i.e. 13.7 million dollars less than in 2017. Last year, the country exported 32,422 eighteen-kilo boxes of bananas abroad, i.e. 4.6 percent less than the 33,983 boxes it shipped in 2016.
The decrease in volume is related to the flooding of the plantations and the political conflict that arose at the end of 2017.
According to the BCH, due to the floods, the workers and inputs (such as bags, packaging boxes and pallets) had difficulties accessing the banana farms.
Fortunately, the average price of a box of bananas in 2017 was $16.12 dollars, i.e. 7.6 percent higher than the $14.98 achieved in 2016.
Source: latribuna.hn