Trader Joes Just Hiked Price of This Produce Item for First Time in Decades

Trader Joe’s announced on Monday that it would be significantly raising the cost of its bananas, which have remained at the same price tag of 19 cents for over 20 years.

The new price of bananas at TJ’s will be 23 cents each, an increase of more than 20 percent. A Trader Joe’s spokesperson told CNN that the rise in cost was simply to offset the store’s cost of acquiring them.

“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 is known for its wide selection of moderately priced groceries and snack foods, with “the 19 cent banana” becoming something of an unofficial spokes-item for the chain.

Trader Joe’s CEO Dan Bane said he originally thought to sell individual bananas after an elderly customer told him her reason for not buying full bags of the fruit. “She says to me, ‘Sonny… I may not live to that fourth banana,’” Bane recalled on the Inside Trader Joe’s podcast. 

The price of bananas has remained fairly steady since 2021. They currently stand at 63 cents per pound, a single penny less than prices in April 2023.

However, a March 13 report from CBS News warned of an imminent price hike for bananas due to climate change. The article explained that as temperatures rise beyond the optimal conditions for banana growth, yields will be lower and therefore prices will gradually increase.

Climate change can also cause the proliferation of diseases, such as the Tropical Race 4 (TR4) fungus, which threaten the sustainability of banana crops.

While the banana increase stings, a Trader Joe’s spokesperson noted that the chain has been able to lower some prices of late. Raw almonds were recently decreased by one dollar to $3.99 per pound, while romaine hearts and organic tri-color bell peppers were each discounted by 50 cents to prices of $2.99 and $4.49, respectively.