Banana farming leads the Costa Rican agricultural sector in terms of remuneration, offering the highest wage for agricultural laborers, according to a recent analysis based on data from the 2024 Continuous Employment Survey (ECE) of the National Institute of Statistics and Census (INEC).
The technical study, prepared by CORBANA’s Statistics Section, indicates that agricultural workers directly involved in banana harvesting and post-harvesting receive an average gross salary of ₡364,769 per month, a figure that exceeds the legal minimum wage stipulated by the Ministry of Labor and Social Security (₡310,556 per month in 2024, at the time of the study). It also exceeds the average wage for agricultural laborers in other activities such as pineapple, coffee, citrus, and African palm.
Fair employment in rural areas
“The banana sector has demonstrated that it is possible to generate formal and fair employment in rural areas. In 2024, the banana sector contributed USD 5.12 million (five million one hundred twenty thousand US dollars) per month to the Costa Rican Social Security Fund. This data confirms that Costa Rican bananas not only meet high environmental standards but also represent a source of well-being for thousands of working families,” said Marcial Chaverri Rojas, General Manager of CORBANA.
Furthermore, the analysis places banana sector farmworkers in the fourth quintile of the national agricultural wage scale, which places them above the average for other similar occupations. In contrast, activities such as coffee or citrus farming have wages that remain in the lowest quintiles.
The report also highlights that 83.4% of banana workers have permanent contracts, 94.7% work day shifts, and the vast majority work six days a week with one day off, conditions that strengthen job security in the producing regions.
The average gross salary in banana farming—including other occupations such as packers, guards, or administrators—is ₡384,456 per month, also the highest in the national agricultural sector.
Interested in participating? CORBANA reiterates that the socioeconomic situation of banana workers is an essential part of the added value represented by Costa Rican bananas, and that this type of data is essential to highlighting the sector’s contribution to social development, especially in the Huetar Caribe Region, where national production is concentrated. For more information, please email [email protected]
