Come Mr Tally Man, tally me banana. Daylight come and ... the price of oil is putting me out of business.

Chiquita is feeling the pinch as the costs of operating its Central American fruit exporting business begin to tell on its margins.

The American company told its investors yesterday to brace themselves for a loss, despite an 8 per cent rise in banana prices. Moving tropical fruit around the world is a complex business involving huge refrigerated vessels and vast warehouses, where fruit is forcibly ripened on arrival.

It's not just the cost of fuelling the banana boat but a whole range of things, including fertiliser and packaging - all oil-based products - that tell on a business that suffers from big price fluctuations. Bananas are Britain's most popular fruit, keenly priced by supermarkets. The stores often discount them to pull in the punters, another factor that puts pressure on suppliers, notably the competing Caribbean banana producers, who complain endlessly about how they are under the cosh from the lower-cost Central American plantations.

Now the cost equation has been torn apart by the insoluble problem of dear fuel, an overhead deemed irrelevant two years ago but now a crucial factor in the health of myriad businesses. For some products, there are no obvious solutions. Lovers of Australian chardonnay cannot easily reduce the burden of transport costs; French wine is afflicted by the expensive euro, while English wine remains an oxymoron.

If we want to enjoy a fine diet, we shall simply have to pay more.

Times Recommends

• Lies and cover-up at MG Rover exposed by report
• High oil prices push manufacturing costs up
• Primark founder steps down as chief executive