Bananas Flashcards
How many people are bananas a staple food for?
400 million
Why are bananas important?
4th most important food in LICs
In 2013, how many tonnes of bananas were traded?
16.5 million
What percentage of bananas from Colombia are exported to Europe?
80%
What percentage of Ecuador’s GDP is made up of income from bananas?
10%
Why do the ACP nations not trade as many bananas as Latin America?
- consumed domestically
- too poor to afford tariffs (link to banana wars, EU)
- less FDI invested as fewer TNCs present
What is a monoculture?
growing only one crop on a farm
What is comparative advantage?
countries specialising in products that they have the best climate/skills/resources
What is repatriation of profits?
TNCs sending profits made back to source countries/HQs
Why do many countries in Latin America specialise in growing bananas?
- comparative advantage -> climate
- large market/demand
- cheaper to produce as only a primary product
What are the issues with specialising in bananas?
- 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
What is meant by ‘race to the bottom’?
- TNCs increase profits
- reduces the value and price paid to producers
What factors enable the trade of bananas?
- trade agreements
- security
- transport
What flows are involved in the trade of bananas?
- products
- remittances
- FDI
- labour
- capital
What percentage of the value of a banana goes to workers?
7%
What percentage of the value of a banana goes to retailers?
41%
What are the 4 TNCs involved in banana trade/production?
- Dole
- Chiquita
- Del Monte
- Fyffes (Ireland)
What is Noboa?
Ecuadorian national company specialising in bananas
Why does the repatriation of profits impact producer countries?
- the TNCs send profits back to HQ
- less money paid as tax
- less money paid to workers
- reinforces core-periphery model
What % of market share is owned by the big 5 banana companies?
45% (used to be 6-% in 2002)
What is Fair Trade?
concept of a social enterprise that supports fair wages and higher incomes, through Fair Trade Premium
What does Fair Trade do for workers?
- increases income and QoL
- gives grants to local education and schools
- grants improve farming as well as housing
How does Fair Trade impact consumers?
higher cost of goods
How many ACP nations were involved in SDT in 1975? (between these nations and the EU)
71, Lome convention
When did the US file a complaint against the WTO claiming its SDTs were unfair?
1992
When were tariffs reduced for latin american nations?
2009
How many bananas are eaten per person per year in the UK?
100
When did the US become successful in its complaint against the SDT given to ACP nations?
1997
How much has been generated for certified banana producers through the Fair Trade Premium?
£114 million from 2000-2020
How much (on average) does a loose banana cost in the UK?
11p
How many banana farmers and producers does FairTrade support?
36,480
Give an example of a threat to banana producers…
TR4 (Panama) Disease, 10,000ha cavendish bananas destroyed.
Currently no cure and no resistant bananas
