The Panamanian Cabinet is subsidising the Coosemupar banana co-operative so that it can meet its fortnightly wages bill following weeks of strikes and a days-long blockade of the international border with Costa Rica.
The subsidy is worth some 850,000 balboas and follows negotiation between government and producers. The Panamanian authorities acknowledged the “difficult situation” that the producers are experiencing, the Cabinet office said in a statement, which is the result of climatic conditions, plant disease and market forces.
