Panama will auction 5 million boxes of bananas in mid-February, the head of the country's commodity exchange told Reuters on Wednesday. Abelardo Carles said western Panamanian co-operative Coosemupar wants to auction 4 million, 40-pound (18 kg) boxes of premium quality bananas to international buyers, and 1 million boxes of other qualities. The sale represents around a quarter of Panama's annual crop and could fetch $35 million.

Although Panamanian banana production is small in comparison to neighboring Costa Rica and Colombia, Carles said the sale represents a significant quantity for large buyers. The auction is expected to take place on Feb. 14, and will mark the end of Coosemupar's long-standing distribution deal with Chiquita Brands, which gave the U.S. firm the exclusive rights to by the crop. Coosemupar says it wants to sell bananas to European distributors, although Chiquita is unlikely to be excluded from bidding.