Thumbnail Image

The changing role of multinational companies in the global banana trade

Year of publication 2014

Author Trade and Markets Division

Product type Document

Edition 1

Synopsis (short abstract) Multinational trading companies, and in particular the three largest banana traders (Chiquita, Dole and del Monte), have historically played a major role in the international banana trade, exerting substantial market power in particular on the purchasing side. These vertically integrated multinational firms engage in production, purchase, transport, and marketing of bananas. They own fleet and ripening facilities, and have their own distribution networks in the importing countries, creating im portant economies of scale. The scope of their operations and their influence over the banana trade have, however, changed over time. The combined market share of the top three companies was at its highest in the 1980’s, when they controlled almost two thirds (65.3%) of global banana exports2, and the share has gradually declined since. In 2013, the market share of the top three companies was slightly over one third (36.6%) and the share of the top five companies was 44.4%, down from 70% in 2002. As a consequence, other companies now account for over half of all exports.

Language English

Also available in:
No results found.

Related items

Showing items related by metadata.

  • Thumbnail Image
  • Thumbnail Image
    Journal, magazine, bulletin
    Medium-term Outlook: Prospects for global production and trade in bananas and tropical fruits 2019 to 2028.
    Prospects for global production and trade in bananas and tropical fruits 2019 to 2028.
    2020
    Also available in:
    Medium-term Outlook: Prospects for global production and trade in bananas and tropical fruits 2019. Bananas and, particularly, tropical fruits constitute a significant source of economic growth, income, food security and nutrition for the rural areas of many developing countries. The projections for bananas and tropical fruits presented in this medium-term outlook span a ten year horizon, from 2019 to 2028.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Meeting
    An evolution in the middle: Examining the rise of multinational investment in smallholder grain trading in Zambia 2016
    Also available in:
    No results found.
    African agrifood systems are being transformed by multinational capital. To date, research on this transformation has focused most intently on the rise of supermarkets and demand for African land. Multinational investment in African grain trading has received less attention. Using a range of qualitative methods and representative household survey data from Zambia, this article seeks to understand the causes and consequences of multinational investment in smallholder grain markets. We show that m ultinational investment into smallholder grain and oilseed trading grew substantially between 2012 and 2015. This has been driven by a range of important supply and demand factors, most notably transformations in downstream markets and stable macro-economic conditions. These are highly sensitive to change and highlight the fragility of this investment wave. The expansion of multinational investment has coincided with a drop in margins between farm-gate and wholesale prices. Moreover, these firms appear to be altering the structure and conduct of grain markets in beneficial ways, including expanding the range of services provided to farmers and increasing perceived levels of trust in private market by farmers. However, prices paid to farmers by these firms are lower than traditional small-scale market channels, ceteris paribus.
Show more

Users also downloaded

Showing related downloaded files

No results found.