Chiquita Banana shuts down Panama’s operation!
Almirante, Panama, Jun 17 (EFE).- By Bienvenido Velasco and Giovanna Ferullo
Refrigerated containers sit untouched and dockworkers linger with no cargo at the Chiquita banana terminal in the Panamanian port of Almirante, weeks after the United States multinational shut down its operations in the country. For Marcial Cruz, a 64-year-old foreman who has worked at the port for over four decades, the uncertainty is disheartening.
“We’re here waiting to see what happens. Other than that, there’s nothing we can do,” he told EFE on Tuesday.
Chiquita had used the Almirante terminal to ship bananas grown in Panama and Costa Rica. The company told local union leaders and foremen that it held no grievances against the workers and urged them to wait, Cruz said. “But there’s been no movement at all in a month, zero,” he added.
The closure of Chiquita Panama left 6,500 workers without jobs, amid a month-long strike led by the banana workers’ union over changes to the country’s social security law, disputes that were unrelated to the company itself.
Workers left in the dark
Built-in 1908, the Almirante terminal, equipped to handle 2,900 containers, was a major economic hub in Bocas del Toro province, employing around 2,000 people directly or through contractors.
While a ferry continues to connect the port to nearby tourist destination Isla Colón, the banana trade has ground to a halt.
“No one is hiring from here to Guabita, everything is paralyzed,” said a 70-year-old dockworker with more than 20 years on the job, who asked to be identified only as “Green.”
Cruz, who already receives a pension, considers himself fortunate. “Most of the dockworkers are young guys who don’t have a pension to fall back on,” he noted.
The dockworkers believe the only short-term solution may be for Chiquita or another company to resume fruit imports for export through the port, as reviving local plantations affected by the strike could take months.
Strike ends, but jobs don’t return
The banana workers’ union, Sitraibana, launched a full work stoppage over reforms to Panama’s social security system, which they said jeopardized a special labor regime established by law in 2017.
That provision was reinstated last week following fast-tracked negotiations with Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino’s administration and approval by the National Assembly.
But the damage was already done. Chiquita cited losses exceeding 75 million dollars and proceeded to lay off its entire workforce, from field laborers to office staff. A Labor Tribunal had ruled the strike illegal.
“They got the special law they were fighting for, right?” said Cruz. “But now everyone is unemployed. So what was the point of all that struggle if you need a job to benefit from the law?”
For Green, the crisis in Bocas del Toro, one of Panama’s poorest regions and home to a large Indigenous population, is also due to what he described as “the arrogance” of President Mulino.
Yet, he came to the port on Tuesday hoping to earn something, “you can’t live off air,” he said. “I just hope I can return to work when this is over.”
Banana farming is the backbone of Bocas del Toro’s economy, particularly in Changuinola, one of its largest cities. The sector generated around 6,500 direct and 24,000 indirect jobs, according to Chiquita and government data.
Despite the shutdown, banana exports remained Panama’s top foreign sales product in Q1 2025, accounting for 17.5% of total exports valued at 324.4 million dollars, the highest figure in 15 years, according to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. EFE gf-bv/seo/mcd
