In Panama 5,837 People Applied for Work on Chiquita’s Farms in Bocas del Toro
The job fair concluded on Saturday in Changuinola, aiming to attract 3,000 workers in the first phase and 2,000 people in the second phase.
The number of people who applied to work on the Chiquita company’s banana farms in Changuinola exceeded the goal of 3,000 that it plans to hire in this first phase. A total of 5,837 people applied during the five days of the job fair, according to data released by the Ministry of Labor and Workforce Development (Mitradel). The last day of the five-day fair took place on Saturday, November 15, with 1,726 participants registered and applying for field jobs at the banana company. The Minister of Labor, Jackeline Muñoz de Cedeño, stressed that in this first stage they plan to hire around 3,000 people and an additional 2,000 by the end of the year. “Chiquita Panama has concrete plans to restart operations with an initial shipment at the end of January 2026 and will begin harvesting bananas in February, which will require an active workforce,” the official stated.
The donations received during this first fair were distributed among the five sharecropping companies linked to Chiquita where banana production is being reactivated: Las Tablas Assets, Guabito Assets, Las 30 Assets, Las 60 Assets and Finca 8 Internacional. The operation is carried out under the sharecropping model, which establishes that the banana company grants the farms to local producer associations for their exploitation, while Chiquita is responsible for buying the fruit and marketing it abroad. Chiquita resumed operations in September, following the signing of a memorandum of understanding in August between the Panamanian government and the company, which guaranteed the continued operation of the banana farms. Between May and July, protests in the province led to a production halt and the dismissal of approximately 6,000 workers.
