Banana Prices Jump Higher
According to CPI data, the price of bananas rose 3.3% from April to May. At that rate, the prices could rise by 50% annually. There has already been news of a banana shortage.
According to Axios, the problem is not simply a shortage: “Enter the banana, which until now had been resistant to inflation in part due to free trade agreements that no longer apply thanks to the blanket 10% tariff imposed by the White House.”
The banana can be added to other foods that have experienced extreme price increases, first due to climate change and now, perhaps, due to tariffs.
The price of coffee beans has nearly doubled in two years due to climate challenges in the two largest sources, Brazil and Vietnam.
There have been several cocoa shortages due to climate change-related weather problems in West Africa, which is a source of almost two-thirds of the global supply.
Americans have been fortunate. As food prices have rinsed, they have been offset by the drop in oil and gas prices. If those begin to move up, inflation could go from it muted to a problem.
The banana problem may persist, but fortunately, it is not the only component of the Consumer Price Index (CPI).
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