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how important are bananas as a food product in the least developed countries?
fourth most important food product
one banana provides…
…more than an adult’s daily potassium requirement
where are bananas grown?
hot, rainy lowlands of tropical regions
what country is the largest banana producer?
India
where are the main banana exporters?
Central America and Caribbean
how many kg of active ingredients do commercial TNC plantations apply?
30 kg per hectare per year
what are active ingredients?
e.g. fungicides, insecticides, herbicides
for every tonne of bananas produced how many tonnes of waste are there?
2
what two groups dominate world banana trade?
ACP and ‘dollar producers’ of Central American republics
what is the ACP group?
Africa, Caribbean, Pacific
what traditional pattern does the trade of bananas follow?
developing regions exporting a low-value primary product to more developed countries
what is the main exporting country?
Ecuador
what is Asia’s main exporting country?
Philippines
what are Africa’s main exporting countries?
Cote d’Ivoire, Cameroon
what % of bananas are consumed by the EU and US?
27% each
what % of the price paid by the end consumer never reaches the producer?
90%
who takes the biggest slice of profits?
retailers
in 2002 what % of the banana trade was dominated by 5 TNCs?
60%
give an example of a TNC that dominated the banana trade
Chiquita (US)
what national producer is important in the banana trade?
Noboa (Ecuador)
what chain do the main TNCs use?
own, or increasingly contract, plantations
have their own ripening facilities
have their own sea transport
have their own distribution networks in consuming countries
what does the TNC chain allow?
significant economies of scale gains to sell at a very low price, and they repatriate profits
what kinds of plantation are bananas grown on?
mostly monoculture and the rest on family farms e.g. in Caribbean
what % of banana trade is now dominated by the 5 big companies?
45%
what has the recent shift in the banana supply change been?
increasing number of national companies sell their produce to TNCs or retailers like Tesco
what has the recent supply chain power shift caused?
suppliers have little option but to accept conditions e.g. low prices, discounts, delayed payments, or otherwise risk being taken from the supplier list
how long did the banana trade dispute last?
20 years from 1992 to 2009
with what agreement did the banana trade dispute end?
2009 Geneva Banana Agreement, coming into effect 2012
when did the banana trade dispute start?
1975 - Lomé Convention
what was the Lomé Convention?
EU countries negotiated trade agreement with former European colonies (71 ACP countries)
what is SDT?
special and differential treatment
what did the Lomé Convention consist of?
the countries were given SDT with tariff-free import quotas
what was the aim behind the Lomé Convention?
enable these former colonies to develop independently without overseas aid
what % of the EU market was being supplied by US TNCs at the time of the Lomé Convention?
75%
when did TNCs file a complaint to the WTO about the Lomé Convention?
1992
what did the TNCs claim in 1992?
the EU practice was unfair trade
what did the WTO do in 1997?
ruled against EU and ordered them to stop
why was the dispute not resolved?
the EU proposals did not satisfy the larger producers
what happened as a result of the dispute?
the US govt retaliated under pressure from TNCs, imposing WTO-approved sanctions on EU products
what compromise was reached in Geneva in 2009?
EU to gradually reduce tariffs on Latin American bananas
why are there still concerns from the ACP producers that they cannot compete?
of the Caribbean, only the Dominican Republic, Belize and the Windward Isles are competing successfully
what % of bananas entering the EU come from the Dominican Republic, Belize and the Windward Isles?
80%
why are many of the larger companies relocating to West Africa?
‘race to the bottom’
what is a ‘race to the bottom’?
searching for lower labour costs and weaker legislation in order to stay competitive
how is plantation work being kept increasingly casual? What is the consequence?
employers sub-contracting labour, leading to long shifts and many workers failing to earn enough to cover their needs
what two things come under ‘sustainable’ bananas?
fair trade and organic produce
what market segment is growing in richer nations?
ethical consumers becoming aware of the shortcomings in the supply chain, willing to pay a higher price for a certified product
what does the trade dispute show about the WTO?
they support free trade against protectionism, even if the protection may be to help development
what does the trade dispute show about retailers?
supermarket price wars may ultimately decide where and how food is produced
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