Costa Rica bananas

Retailers have increased the price of bananas 

Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Waitrose have followed rivals in raising the price of bananas from 68 to 72p/kg.

Asda, Morrisons, Lidl and Aldi made headlines last week when they were the first to increase the price of bananas – one of the first point-of-sale price shifts in fresh produce since June’s Brexit vote.

Sainsbury’s was the next to move, followed by Waitrose and Tesco.

A spokesperson for Tesco said: “Importing bananas from the Americas has become more expensive. We always aim to provide the best possible food quality and prices for our customers, and only consider price increases when absolutely necessary.'

A drop in the pound has hiked the cost of imported produce and goods, but up until now this has been absorbed within the supply chain.

A Sainsbury’s spokesperson stressed that prices 'can go up and down'. “We aim to be as competitive as possible. We also only sell Fairtrade bananas which means a fairer deal for our farmers, as well as our customers,' the spokesperson added.