Banana farmers across Latin America are calling for significant improvements in pay to combat the economic toll of the climate crisis, as extreme weather linked to this year’s super El Niño event triggers a dramatic slump in production. High winds in Colombia, alongside heavy rainfall in Peru and Ecuador, are already disrupting output. Meanwhile, farmers in the Dominican Republic are bracing for warmer, drier conditions that threaten their crops.
Data from the Fairtrade Foundation highlights the severity of these cycles, noting that past El Niño events caused productivity drops of 13% in the Dominican Republic, 22% in Ecuador, and 6% in Peru. Historical records from the 1983 El Niño, one of the most intense ever documented, show that 15% of Ecuador’s total banana-growing area was affected, leading to a 36% export reduction. It’s been getting much hotter … it’s really intense.
Dr. Carley-Jane Stanton, climate lead at Fairtrade, warned that current conditions are likely to exceed the impact of the 2023-2024 cycle. Evidence of this strain is already visible in the Colombian Caribbean, where the Association of Banana Growers of Magdalena and La Guajira reported a 32% export drop between July and September, totaling $122m. By September alone, shipments plummeted 42% year-on-year, nearly halving monthly earnings to $40m. According to dr Carley-Jane Stanton, a climate and environment lead at Fairtrade,, This El Niño is expected to lead to more extreme weather, including heavy rainfall and strong winds and “we expect the impacts for producers to be more severe” than in the 23-24 cycle. Evidence is mounting to fuel those fears. According to while some businesses, including Sainsbury’s, the Co-op and Waitrose, have taken voluntary steps by sourcing only Faitrade bananas, which guarantee a minimum price, it, There is more work to do.
“We are calling on international markets to foster commercial conditions that recognise actual production costs,” the association stated, noting that climate losses and currency volatility are undermining the industry’s economic stability.
Agrosiete worker Ever Antonio Flores Muños emphasized the human cost of these changes, noting that rising heat and intensifying weather patterns are increasingly threatening livelihoods, worker health, and future wages. A worker at the Agrosiete banana producer in Colombia, told Fairtrade: “Over the past 10 years the climate has changed a lot, ever Antonio Flores Muños. Colleagues – everything will be at great risk, and our wages will decrease.”, it’s going to affect all of us – our workers.
The Ethical Trading Initiative recently found that, as of 2026, the prices paid to 66.7% of suppliers failed to cover basic production costs. Despite these rising expenses for labor, fuel, and fertilizer, supermarket prices have remained largely static for four decades. Eleanor Harrison, CEO of Fairtrade, stressed that the UK’s banana supply is entirely dependent on providing farmers with the resources required for climate adaptation. Supermarket prices have remained unchanged for almost 40 years despite rising costs for fertiliser, fuel and labour, while bananas are becoming harder and more expensive to produce.
Industry leaders, including Fyffes chief corporate affairs officer Caoimhe Buckley, have urged retailers to reform their purchasing practices to reflect real-world costs. Buckley stated that long-term sustainability must incorporate investments in human rights, environmental management, and climate resilience.
Fairtrade is currently pushing for UK legislation to curb unfair trading practices, such as late payments and contracts that offload risks onto producers. These changes are deemed critical, as research for the Inter-American Development Bank suggests that suitable banana-growing land across Latin America and the Caribbean could shrink by 61% by 2050 if climate mitigation efforts fail. According to it, Producers need more help to adapt or mitigate climatic changes, which could mean suitable land for banana cultivation could shrink by an average of 61% across Latin America and the Caribbean by 2050, according to research for the Inter-American Development Bank published in 2020.
