Despite banana prices not being as heavily impacted by inflation as other foods, Trader Joe's has increased the price of the fruit from 19 cents per banana to 23 cents.
The price hike marked the first time Trader Joe's has increased banana prices in over 20 years. How Trader Joe's sells bananas is unique. Unlike most grocery stores that sell them by the pound, Trader Joe's sells them per banana.
"We recently changed the price of a single banana to 23 cents, which still represents a tremendous everyday value for bananas. We only change our prices when our costs change, and after holding our price for bananas at 19 cents each for more than two decades, we’ve now reached a point where this change is necessary," Trader Joe's said.
The price of organic bananas will remain at 29 cents.
Trader Joe's said it has negotiated lower prices for other produce items. For instance, the chain says its green onions now are at their lowest prices in a decade.
Trader Joe's also sells many other items by the number of items sold and not by pounds.
A Scripps News reporter recently bought six bananas at an Ohio Trader Joe's location. The reporter spent $1.38, which is a 24-cent increase from earlier in the month.
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The six bananas weighed just over 2.3 pounds. According to the consumer price index, an average pound of bananas cost 62.5 cents in February. Based on the consumer price index, 2.3 pounds of bananas cost about $1.61 at an average store.
Banana prices have largely been resilient to inflation. After banana prices saw a huge increase during the recession of 2008-09, a pound of bananas has remained within a few cents of 60 cents per pound since 2010.
Since the start of 2010, food at home prices have increased 42%. Meanwhile, bananas have gone up a mere 6%, according to the consumer price index.
