The Philippines has taken the rare step of asking retailers and consumers in Japan, its biggest export market, to bear the brunt of higher prices for its bananas to sustain its industry for the popular fruit.
The prices of Philippine bananas in Japan must be "fair" and reflect increasing production and logistics costs if the public wants to continue enjoying the same level of supply and quality, an agricultural attache at the Philippine Embassy in Tokyo said in a recent interview.
The embassy's unusual request for a price hike was made to the Japan Retailers Association, which includes supermarkets among its members, in early June. The move comes at a time when the public is already feeling the squeeze of inflation, the impact on import prices due to a weak yen and long-stagnant wages.