Full production should resume by the end of 2026, the multinational’s president said
Chiquita will resume banana production and exports from Panama in January 2026, with its workforce expected to hit 5,000 employees by February.
Speaking after a meeting with Panamanian president José Raúl Mulino this week, Chiquita Panama president Carlos López said: “We expect to be in full production in the first half of the year, in February or March”.
The multinational said by the end of 2026, it will be producing and exporting the same volume of bananas as before the illegal strike that halted its operations in the country earlier this year.
“We are on schedule with the original plan, very pleased with the overall progress. The plantation is in better condition than we anticipated, and we expect to continue with the plan at a slightly accelerated pace,” López said.
Chiquita ceased operations in the country and laid off some 7,000 workers at its Changuinola plant in Bocas del Toro province amid a workers’ strike that cost it more than US$75mn in losses.
