World Trade in Bananas Flashcards

1
Q

Where do bananas rank in terms of their importance as a food product in developing countries?

A

They are the 4th most important food product within least developed countries

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2
Q

For how many people are bananas a staple food?

A

Around 400 million people

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3
Q

How many calories are in 100g of banana?

A

50

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4
Q

How much of an adults daily potassium requirement does one banana provide?

A

More than the daily amount

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5
Q

Where do bananas rank in terms of being the most traded agricultural commodity?

A

They are the 5th most traded agricultural food commodity

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6
Q

How many tonnes of bananas were exported in 2013?

A

16.5 million tonnes

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7
Q

Where were the bananas mainly exported from?

A

Latin America and the Caribbean

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8
Q

In what type of climate are bananas grown?

A

In hot, rainy lowlands of tropical regions

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9
Q

What happens to many of the bananas in India, Brazil and much of Africa?

A

They are consumed domestically

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10
Q

Which country is the largest producer of bananas globally?

A

India

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11
Q

Where does India export its bananas to?

A

The Middle East and other parts of Asia

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12
Q

Where does the Philippines export its bananas to?

A

Japan and other parts of East Asia

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13
Q

How do banana growers prevent disease?

A

They treat the bananas with chemicals throughout the production cycle

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14
Q

How many kg of chemicals are applied in commercial banana plantations by TNCs every year?

A

30kg of active ingredients per hectare per year

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15
Q

What type of chemicals are used to prevent disease in bananas?

A

Fungicides, insecticides and herbicides

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16
Q

What other chemicals are applied to bananas?

A

Fertilisers and the bananas are washed with disinfectant

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17
Q

How do bananas rank in terms of agrochemical input into the environment?

A

The banana industry has the secondn largest agrochemical input into the environment

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18
Q

What are the environmental impacts of banana plantations?

A

Deforestation
Waste
Soil fertility
Loss of biodiversity

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19
Q

Why is there a problem with biodiversity as a result of banana plantations?

A

Pollutants run into water courses

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20
Q

How much waste is produced from growing bananas?

A

For every one tonne of bananas there are two tonnes of waste

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21
Q

Why is there a problem with soil fertility as a result of banana plantations?

A

Contaminants get into the soil

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22
Q

Which two groups of producers dominate the banana trade?

A

The ACP group

The ‘dollar producers’

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23
Q

What is the ACP group?

A

Africa, Caribbean and Pacific

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24
Q

Who are the ‘dollar producers’?

A

Central American republics (mainly Ecuador and Columbia) controlled by US TNCs

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25
Q

What is the pattern of banana trade?

A

From LICs to HICs

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26
Q

What percentage of exported Bananas are from the Caribbean and Latin America?

A

80%

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27
Q

What percentage of the banana export market does Asia have?

A

17%

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28
Q

Who are the largest importers?

A

The EU and the USA

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29
Q

What percentage of exported bananas are consumed by the USA?

A

27%

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30
Q

What percentage of exported bananas are consumed by the EU?

A

27%

31
Q

What percentage of the price paid by the end consumer stays in the richer countries and never reaches the producer?

A

90%

32
Q

Who has the most risks from producing this fruit?

A

The producer

33
Q

Who takes the largest slice of profits?

A

Retailers

34
Q

Which four TNCs dominated 80% of the banana trade in the past?

A

Chiquita, Dole and Del Monte from the USA

Fyffes from Ireland

35
Q

Who is the other important banana producer?

A

Noboa

36
Q

Where is Noboa based?

A

Ecuador

37
Q

How are these banana TNCs integrated?

A

Vertically up the chain

38
Q

What is a benefit of vertical integration?

A

Significant economies of scale

39
Q

On what type of plantations are most bananas grown?

A

Monoculture plantations

40
Q

Which area is starting to have more monoculture plantations?

A

Africa

41
Q

Where are there lots of small-scale family banana farms?

A

Caribbean

42
Q

Up until when did the big five companies control 60% of the marker?

A

2002

43
Q

How much of the market share do the big five companies now have?

A

45%

44
Q

How have the big five companies changed their production line?

A

They now use supply contract with medium and large scale producers instead of taking direct ownership of plantations

45
Q

Why do suppliers have little option but to accept conditions such as low prices and delayed payments?

A

They risk being taken off the supplier list as retailers are now increasingly dominating the supply chain

46
Q

How long was the banana trade dispute?

A

20 years

47
Q

When did the banana trade dispute start?

A

1992

48
Q

When was the Geneva Banana Agreement?

A

2009

49
Q

When did the Geneva Banana Agreement come into force?

A

2012

50
Q

Why did the dispute start?

A

In 1975, EU countries signed an agreement with former European colonies known as the Lome Convention

51
Q

Who was the Lome Convention made with?

A

71 African, Caribbean and Pacific countries

52
Q

What happened to the 71 ACP countries in the Lome Convention?

A

They got special and differential treatment with preferential tariff-free quotas to supply EU markets

53
Q

What was the aim of the Lome Convention?

A

To help the former European countries to develop independently without having to use overseas aid

54
Q

What was the effect of the Lome Convention?

A

To protect mainly smaller, family-run farms in the Caribbean and Africa from competition with the large Latin American producers that produced cheaper bananas on mechanised plantations

55
Q

At the time of the Lome Convention, what percentage of the EU market was supplied by Latin America?

A

75%

56
Q

At the time of the Lome Convention, what percentage of the EU market was supplied by Caribbean suppliers?

A

7%

57
Q

When did TNCs file a complaint to the WTO that the EU practice was unfair trade?

A

1992

58
Q

What did the WTO rule as a result of the TNC complaint and when?

A

In 1997, the WTO ruled against the EU and Lome Convention and stated that the EU had to cease the discrimination

59
Q

Why was the dispute not resolved after the 1997 WTO ruling?

A

The EU proposals did not satisfy larger producers

60
Q

How did the USA retaliate?

A

It imposed WTO approved sanctions on a range of EU products

61
Q

Why did the USA retaliate?

A

It was under pressure from TNCs

62
Q

Who was the compromise reached by in the Geneva Banana Agreement?

A

The EU and 11 Latin American countries

63
Q

What was the result of the Geneva Banana Agreement?

A

The EU agreed to gradually reduce tariffs on Latin American bananas

64
Q

Of the Caribbean countries, which ones are now able to successfully compete with larger producers?

A

Dominican Republic
Belize
The Windward Isles

65
Q

Why are many large companies relocating their plantations?

A

Due to low prices paid to suppliers by supermarkets

66
Q

Where are many large companies relocating their plantations?

A

To West Africa

67
Q

Why are many large companies relocating their plantations to West Africa?

A

There is weaker legislation and labour costs are lower

68
Q

What is meant by ‘a race to the bottom’?

A

In terms of social and economic standards this is where countries compete by cutting labour costs

69
Q

What type of contract do plantation employees have?

A

It is normally sub-contract labour so work is becoming increasingly casual

70
Q

What are the working conditions like for plantation workers?

A

Long shifts in unbearable heat

71
Q

What do many plantation workers fail to do?

A

Earn enough to cover their basic needs

72
Q

What has there been a steady growth in?

A

‘Sustainable’ bananas

73
Q

What do sustainable bananas include?

A

Organic and fair trade bananas