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Bananas

In Vancouver we have the luxury of being able to eat produce from all over the world. It's important to think of the farmers who grow our produce. The following information focuses on bananas, but similar stories emerge when examining the origins of many imported fruits and vegetables.

OVERVIEW

  • Bananas are the fourth most widely consumed food globally after rice, wheat, and corn. Bananas are grown in 130 countries worldwide - more than any other fruit crop.1
  • The five leading exporting countries are India (26.2%), Philippines (9%), China (8.2%), Ecuador (7.6%), and Brazil (7.2%), according to 2009 Food and Agriculture Organization statistics.
  • Almost 100 million metric tons of bananas are consumed worldwide every year, of which about 15 million are exported.2
  • Canadians eat approximately 3 billion bananas a year, and in Canadian supermarkets, bananas account for over 10% of total sales in the produce section and 1% of total sales.3

CORPORATIONS

  • Five corporations control around 80% of the sales on the banana import market worldwide.4
  • The two largest are U.S.-based corporations Dole Food Company and Chiquita Brands International, which control about 25% each of the market globally.5
  • The three other major corporations that control the banana trade are Fresh Del Monte Produce (Chilean-based IAT Group) with a 15% share, Bonita Banana (Ecuadorian-based Exportadora Bananera Noboa, part of the conglomerate Gropu Noboa) with a 9% share, and Fyffes (Irish-based) with a 7% share.6

CHEMICALS

  • Bananas are the most heavily sprayed food crop in the world.7
  • Four of the chemicals used are classified as ‘extremely hazardous’ by the World Health Organization,and three organophosphates are banned in the UK.8
  • Most corporations spend more money on agrochemicals than on worker wages.9
  • In addition to the chemical sprays, banana bunches are wrapped in insecticide-coated plastic while still on the trees to prevent against disease.10 To ensure high yields, intensive production methods are used which result in toxic chemical residue remaining in soil, water, sediment and fish in the areas adjacent to plantations.11

WORKERS

  • In Latin America, workers on plantations can earn as little as 1% of the final price of the banana.12
  • Hours of work can be as long as 12-14 hours of unpaid overtime. Chemical sprays can gravely affect the health of workers, the surrounding communities and the environment.13 Additionally, workers may risk their jobs or even their lives if they attempt to form trade unions. 14
  • Women often face gender-specific abuse, including discriminatory employment policies, compulsory pregnancy tests before hiring, limited access to maternity leave and sexual harassment.15

WHY FAIR TRADE?16

  • Economic stability
    • Farmers who produce Fairtrade certified bananas are guaranteed a Fairtrade minimum price to cover the costs of sustainable production
    • A Fairtrade Premium of US$ 1 per 18.14kg-box of bananas to invest in projects in their communities
  • Economic empowerment
    • Profits must be equally distributed among the members of the cooperative or association
    • Workers have the right to establish or join an independent union
    • Salaries must be equal to or higher than the regional average or than the minimum wage
  • Community building
    • All members of the producer organization must have a voice in the decision-making process and in the group organization
    • The Premium must not be used to cover ongoing operating expenses, but rather to improve living and working conditions
  • Basic rights
    • Forced labour and child labour of children of 15 years and under is prohibited.
    • Work for children over 15 must not interfere with their education
    • Health and safety measures must be established in order to avoid work-related injuries
  • Environmental sustainability17
    • Use of certain pesticides and herbicides are prohibited even on non-organic bananas
    • Measures are taken to mitigate damage to native vegetation — a challenge on single-crop plantations
  • Case Studies – Examples of Fairtrade Premium Use18
    • Windward Islands Famer’s Association (WINFA): Dominica, St Lucia, and St Vincent
    • Dominica
      • A new pre-school was built adjoining the primary school in Bense
    • St Lucia
      • Farmers and workers receive an annual healthcare allowance of up to US$370 to cover GP visits, medicines, and costs of surgery or other treatment
      • A water project supplies clean water to120 villagers in Rosalie
    • St Vincent
      • A new school bus was purchased for children in North Windward
      • Improvement of feeder roads and bridges to give banana farmers better access to their fields and benefit all farmers located along these roads
      • Purchase of two computers for a secondary school in Overland

Further Information

Websites

Books/Literature

  • Bananeras: Women Transforming the Banana Unions of Latin America, by Dana Frank, 2005, South End Press
  • Banana Wars: Power, Production, and History in the Americas (American Encounters/Global Interactions), edited by Steve Striffler and Mark Moberg, 2003, Duke University Press Books
  • Bananas: How the United Fruit Company Shaped the World, by Peter Chapman, 2009, Canongate U.S.
  • Banana: The Fate of the Fruit That Changed the World, by Dan Koeppel. 2008, Plume; Reprint edition
  • The World Banana Economy, 1970-84, by the Food & Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 1987, Food & Agriculture Organization
  • World Banana Economy, 1985-2002: Fao Commodity Studies #1, by Pedro Arias, 2004, Food & Agriculture Organization
  • Banana Wars: The Anatomy of a Trade Dispute, edited by Timothy Edward Josling and Thomas Geoffrey Taylor, 2003, Oxford University Press
  • Banana Split: How EU Policies Divide Global Producers, by David Vanzetti, Veronica Chau and Santiago Fernandez De Cordoba, 2006, United Nations Publications
  • The Banana Dispute: An Economic and Legal Analysis, edited by Fritz Breuss, Stefan Griller and Erich Vranes, 2003, Springer
  • Smart Alliance: How a Global Corporation and Environmental Activists Transformed a Tarnished Brand, by J. Gary Taylor and Patricia J. Scharlin, 2004, Yale University Press
  • The Banana: Empires, Trade Wars, and Globalization, by James Wiley, 2002,University of Nebraska Press
  • Banana Cultures: Agriculture, Consumption, and Environmental Change in Honduras and the United States, by John Soluri, 2006, University of Texas Press

Films and Documentaries

SOURCES

1 “Banana: Market” United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) (2009). Retrieved from: http://www.unctad.org/infocomm/anglais/banana/market.htm
2 “Bananas” Fair Trade International. n.d. Retrieved from: http://www.fairtrade.net/bananas.0.html
3 “Banana Split” Shebandowan Films. n.d. Retrieved from:
http://www.shebafilms.com/?page_id=38
4 “Bananas” Fair Trade International. n.d. Retrieved from:
http://www.fairtrade.net/bananas.html
5 “Banana Companies” Banana Link. n.d. Retrieved from: http://www.bananalink.org.uk/content/view/61/21/lang,en/
6 “Banana Companies” Banana Link. n.d.
7 “The Top Banana” Good Films. n.d. Retrieved from: http://goodfilm.org/film/d/14/The+Top+Banana
8 “Pesticide Use” Banana Link. n.d. Retrieved from: http://www.bananalink.org.uk/content/view/148/90/lang,en/
9 “Pesticide Use” Banana Link. n.d.
10 “Environmental impacts: How are bananas grown?” Banana Link. n.d. Retrieved from: http://www.bananalink.org.uk/content/view/148/90/lang,en/
11 “Pesticide Use” Banana Link. n.d.
12 “Working conditions: Long hours and low wages” Banana Link. n.d. Retrieved from: http://www.bananalink.org.uk/content/view/79/39/lang,en/
13 “Bananas” Fair Trade International. n.d.
14 “Trade union repression” Banana Link. n.d. Retrieved from: http://www.bananalink.org.uk/content/view/176/123/lang,en/
15 “Take action for International Women's Day” Banana Link. (2011) Retrieved from: http://www.bananalink.org.uk/content/view/537/1/lang,en/
16 “Bananas” Fair Trade International. n.d.
17 “The Appeal of Fair Trade Bananas” Good. (2011) Retrieved from: http://www.good.is/post/the-appeal-of-fair-trade-bananas/
18 “Windward Islands Famer’s Association (WINFA): Dominica, St Lucia, and St Vincent” The Fair Trade Foundation. (2010) Retrieved from:
http://www.fairtrade.org.uk/producers/bananas/winfa_2/default.aspx