Bananas Flashcards
How many bananas are eaten a year in the UK?
Five billion.
Where are bananas most commonly grown?
Tropical regions where the average temperature is 27 degrees Celsius and the annual rainfall is 2000-2500mm. For example, South and Central America, Africa.
Who are the top 3 exporters of bananas?
1st - Ecuador ($3.83 billion)
2nd - The Philippines ($1.66 billion)
3rd - Costa Rica ($1.28 billion)
Who are the top 3 importers of bananas?
1st - USA ($2.58 billion)
2nd - China ($959 million)
3rd - Japan ($902 million)
Outline the pattern between level of development and status as an importer or exporter.
The largest exporters of bananas tend to be emerging/developing countries and the largest importers of bananas tend to be developed/emerging countries.
How are bananas used as a marketing technique in the UK?
They are used as loss leaders, meaning they are sold so cheaply that no profits are made off the bananas, using the bananas as an incentive to lure shoppers in.
Explain how the production of bananas causes soil erosion and degradation.
Banana plantations have intensive production systems and minimal methods to prolong the sustainability of said plantations, which leads to the soil degrading after 20-30 years. 1.12 tonnes of calcium in soil is used up per hectare by bananas.
Outline the patterns of pesticide use in the production of bananas.
Bananas produced for trade are the most pesticide intensive of the major tropical food crops, as it can reach 40kg per hectare per year. In 1991, Costa Rica imported $56 million of pesticides, which grew to $84 million in 1994 and grew further to $100 million in 1996. Pesticides represent 20-35% of the total costs of banana production.
Explain the production of wastes in the production of bananas.
Banana production also results in the by product of many residues and wastes. 278,000 megatons of scrap bananas and rejects are produced per year. 4,406 megatons of polyethylene bags are produced per year.
What is the El Guabo Association of Small Banana Producers?
It is one of the world’s largest producers of Fair Trade bananas. Formed in 1997 in south-west Ecuador, they export around 30,000 boxes of bananas per week to the USA and Europe.
Outline the economic benefits of fair trade.
- Stabilised incomes and improvements to standards of living
- Guaranteed fair wage and long time supply contract, including direct access to new and international markets.
- Producers become able to raise additional capital for reinvestment; e.g. tanks to wash bananas.
- Migrant labourers are helped; e.g. they are given assistance to buy their own land.
Outline the social benefits of Fair Trade.
- Health care benefits of cooperatives; e.g. free use of the El Guabo Clinic
- Provision of educational and medical supplies and improved education provision e.g. new school for children with special needs.
- Affiliation with a social security system; payment of retirement benefits
- Support for the poorest groups
- Marginalised groups are helped to find employment; e.g. HIV/AIDS sufferers.
What is a banana republic?
A small country that is politically unstable and has an economy dominated by foreign interest that is dependent on one export.
