Bananas

Question 1

How many people are bananas a staple food for?

Answer 1

400 million

Question 2

Why are bananas important?

Answer 2

4th most important food in LICs

Question 3

In 2013, how many tonnes of bananas were traded?

Answer 3

16.5 million

Question 4

What percentage of bananas from Colombia are exported to Europe?

Answer 4

80%

Question 5

What percentage of Ecuador’s GDP is made up of income from bananas?

Answer 5

10%

Question 6

Why do the ACP nations not trade as many bananas as Latin America?

Answer 6

• consumed domestically
• too poor to afford tariffs (link to banana wars, EU)
• less FDI invested as fewer TNCs present

Question 7

What is a monoculture?

Answer 7

growing only one crop on a farm

Question 8

What is comparative advantage?

Answer 8

countries specialising in products that they have the best climate/skills/resources

Question 9

What is repatriation of profits?

Answer 9

TNCs sending profits made back to source countries/HQs

Question 10

Why do many countries in Latin America specialise in growing bananas?

Answer 10

• comparative advantage -> climate
• large market/demand
• cheaper to produce as only a primary product

Question 11

What are the issues with specialising in bananas?

Answer 11

• rely on demand/tastes of EU/global market
• low value product -> debt
• less money earned -> less taxes paid
• monoculture could lead to widespread disease and pests -> collapse of income

Question 12

What is meant by ‘race to the bottom’?

Answer 12

• TNCs increase profits
• reduces the value and price paid to producers

Question 13

What factors enable the trade of bananas?

Answer 13

• trade agreements
• security
• transport

Question 14

What flows are involved in the trade of bananas?

Answer 14

• products
• remittances
• FDI
• labour
• capital

Question 15

What percentage of the value of a banana goes to workers?

Answer 15

7%

Question 16

What percentage of the value of a banana goes to retailers?

Answer 16

41%

Question 17

What are the 4 TNCs involved in banana trade/production?

Answer 17

• Dole
• Chiquita
• Del Monte
• Fyffes (Ireland)

Question 18

What is Noboa?

Answer 18

Ecuadorian national company specialising in bananas

Question 19

Why does the repatriation of profits impact producer countries?

Answer 19

• the TNCs send profits back to HQ
• less money paid as tax
• less money paid to workers
• reinforces core-periphery model

Question 20

What % of market share is owned by the big 5 banana companies?

Answer 20

45% (used to be 6-% in 2002)

Question 21

What is Fair Trade?

Answer 21

concept of a social enterprise that supports fair wages and higher incomes, through Fair Trade Premium

Question 22

What does Fair Trade do for workers?

Answer 22

• increases income and QoL
• gives grants to local education and schools
• grants improve farming as well as housing

Question 23

How does Fair Trade impact consumers?

Answer 23

higher cost of goods

Question 24

How many ACP nations were involved in SDT in 1975? (between these nations and the EU)

Answer 24

71, Lome convention

Question 25

When did the US file a complaint against the WTO claiming its SDTs were unfair?

Answer 25

1992

Question 26

When were tariffs reduced for latin american nations?

Answer 26

2009

Question 27

How many bananas are eaten per person per year in the UK?

Answer 27

100

Question 28

When did the US become successful in its complaint against the SDT given to ACP nations?

Answer 28

1997

Question 29

How much has been generated for certified banana producers through the Fair Trade Premium?

Answer 29

£114 million from 2000-2020

Question 30

How much (on average) does a loose banana cost in the UK?

Answer 30

11p

Question 31

How many banana farmers and producers does FairTrade support?

Answer 31

36,480

Question 32

Give an example of a threat to banana producers…

Answer 32

TR4 (Panama) Disease, 10,000ha cavendish bananas destroyed.
Currently no cure and no resistant bananas