LatinNews Daily - 27 May 2025

*Costa Rica’s board of port administration and economic development of the country’s Atlantic Coast (Japdeva) has welcomed multinational banana company Chiquita Brands International as a client in 2025, with the arrival of the vessel ‘Italian Stream’ to the Gastón Kogan terminal at the port of Moín, Limón province. According to a statement by the state-run Japdeva, Italian Stream arrived at the port on 23 May. In an operation lasting some 30 hours, 180 containers were unloaded for importation, and 130 were loaded for exportation, while 3,051 boxes of bananas were loaded for international distribution. The vessel’s arrival follows the recent announcement by Chiquita Panamá, the local subsidiary of Chiquita Brands International, that it was suspending operations in Panama and terminating the contracts of all of its day labourers. This is due to the strike by banana workers on its fincas (estates) since 28 April, as part of a general strike in Panama staged by unions against new reforms to the social security system (CSS) and recently signed security agreements with the US, among other things. On 26 May Chiquita Panamá announced that the company’s planting, packing, and exportation operations, as well as administrative activity, in the banana-growing province of Bocas del Toro would remain suspended until further notice. The same statement estimates that the company has incurred losses of over US$75m as a result of the strike activity.

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