It is one of the few British supermarket staples to have bucked the trend during the cost-of-living crisis, with the price of a bunch of bananas no more expensive today than three decades ago. Every country in the world with lower prices than the UK has its producers of the fruit. The Government has now been accused of pursuing an irresponsible post-Brexit policy that could reduce the price of bananas further in the shops – but at the cost of the livelihoods of thousands of workers on small plantations in some of Africa's poorest countries.

Banana growers' groups from Martinique -BANAMART- and Guadeloupe -LPG- in the French West Indies (FWI) are joining forces to make the French Government aware of their financial situation, which they consider "catastrophic". They went to the authorities to explain their difficulties and ask for help to keep the banana industry alive. The representatives of the banana growers' groups of the Antilles went on a working visit to France.

On October 25, about 1,000 workers from the Santa Inés Agricultural Company took over the CA-13 highway near the Planes, Sonaguera, Colón, protesting the Government for not authorizing the eviction of the people who had invaded three banana plantations in Bajo Aguán. To date, it has been 12 days since the Guanacaste, La Paz, and La Esperanza farms were usurped by peasants who claim about a thousand hectares of these lands, which, according to them, were confiscated a few years ago.

The Free Agrarian Platform of the Canary Islands and the Union of Unions of Farmers and Ranchers demand from the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries of the Government of the Canary Islands more "transparency and responsibility" with the management of the Posei and the withdrawal of the volume of surplus bananas from the market to maintain the price, because "the 141.1 millions of aid deserve it".

The head of the Ministry of Public Security, Mario Zamora, announced that on October 24, there was new damage to one of the anti-drug scanners in the APM Terminal in Moín. Given this, a complaint was filed with the Judiciary so that the associated facts could be clarified concerning the electrical failure.

Hapag Llyod, a leading global shipping company, marks a significant moment in creating the world's largest smart container fleet by installing its 700,000th tracking device. This digitalization of the fleets will help track the containers, transmit data on a timely basis, and monitor any sudden container activities, making the supply chain more accessible and transparent. "We are proud to be at the forefront of the digitalization of container shipping," said Rolf Habben Jansen, CEO of Hapag-Lloyd.

The Wageningen University in Holland reported: "The recent incursion of Fusarium wilt of banana (FWB) caused by TR4 has threatened banana production in the Chira Valley of Peru." Adding that "To develop a management strategy, we mapped the entire production area from the air. During 12 flights at an altitude of 610 m (2,000 ft), we gathered 133,700 images in a timeframe of two weeks and constructed an Ortho mosaic map of 73,000 ha. It unveiled the complex logistic network across the banana-producing region

The amount of containership capacity idled has surged again, the latest survey from Alphaliner reporting 315 vessels (1.18 million teu) in lay-up, representing 4.3% of the global fleet. In its fortnightly review of the inactive container vessel fleet, the consultant recorded a big jump from the 271 ships, for 942,035 teu, shown as idled two weeks previously. It said the idle tonnage figures had been boosted by the addition of several larger ships, including four 12,500 to 18,000 teu vessels and three of more than 18,000 teu, either anchored or sent to shipyards for surveys and repairs.

The Paraguayan press reported that the Government of that country is seeking financing of USD 61 million through the Food and Agriculture Fund of the United Nations (FAO) to strengthen two of the country's most important sectors: dairy and bananas. It comes after the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MAG) presented projects to the World Food Forum in Rome.

Small banana growers have switched to grains production after the TR4 Disease kept spreading in sprawling banana farms of Davao del Norte, the Provincial Agriculture Office (PAGRO) has reported. It came out in the agency's recent monitoring of the total hectarage of crops, especially for rice and corn areas in Davao del Norte. From 7,000 hectares several years ago, corn production areas in Davao del Norte have reached more than 10,000 hectares, said PAGRO Senior Agriculturist and Provincial Corn Focal Omar T. Ayco.

According to CMA CGM, westbound transatlantic ocean rates have now hit “unsustainable levels”. The French carrier announced a raft of FAK (freight all kinds) increases on Friday, an endeavour to drive rates back up on a route that has become, what one liner executive described to The Loadstar as, “a total disaster”. Indeed, Xeneta’s XSI North Europe to US east coast average rate per 40ft slumped from $7,700 a year ago to just $1,327 last week.

The urban and infrastructural redevelopment project of the entire area may involve both rail transport and the use of the docks for the direct unloading of containers. After the first information on the change of ownership and on the project to build a new reefer warehouse emerged last July, the search for a tenant for the future multi-temperature refrigerated warehouse of approximately 25,000 square meters which will be built in the port of Trieste along the Zaule canal is now underway.

Summary of the main banana exporters in the Philippines, during the 1st Semester of 2023. Note that the Growers/Exporters have been arranged in group: Dizon Group: FS Dizon&Sons, FranPac Agri-Business,Inc. and Highland Agri-Venture, Lorenzo Group: Lapanday Agri. & Dev. Corp., Lead Export, Lapanday Foods Corp / Anflo Group: Tagum Agr. Dev.Co., Anflo Banana Corp. (Worldwide Dev. Corp.) / Stanfilco a Div of Dole Phils.

Due to the “unsustainable rate levels” reached on the Transatlantic trade, CMA CGM announced adjustments on its rates, effective from November for all Transatlantic westbound lines. The origin range includes all ports in North Europe, including North France, United Kingdom, Ireland, Scandinavia, Poland, Baltic, Portugal, Spain (Bilbao, Vigo, Gijon), all Mediterranean ports, including Malta, South France, Italy, Spain (Algeciras, Valencia, Barcelona, Sagunto), Adriatic, Black Sea, North Africa, Cyprus, Greece, Turkey, Lebanon and excluding Egypt.

Dole Food Company joined forces with the Charlotte Hornets today for the inaugural “Hugo’s PE Power-Up presented by Dole” event at Charlotte-Mecklenburg’s Windsor Park Elementary School. The initiative is part of both companies’ ongoing commitment to promote healthy eating habits and active lifestyles among students and their families. Throughout the day, students in kindergarten through fifth grades enjoyed an enriching and educational experience.