Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Eucador 31.5 %
Costa Rica 12.4 %
Colombia 11.9 %
Guatemala 8.8 %
Honduras 3.2 %
Europe
2.8%
Africa
5.4%
Asia
14.0%
Latin
America/
Caribbean
77.8%
Philippines 12.4 %
Fig. 8.7
Values from Lescot (
2012
) have been adjusted to take into account exportation
from non-banana producing countries
Bananas
Introduction
Banana is the developing world's fourth most important food crop after rice, wheat
and maize, with total production estimated at 130 Mt in 2010 (Lescot
2012
). Ba-
nanas as such include plantains which are a type of banana usually cooked before
consumption. The crop is grown in more than 130 countries throughout the tropics
and subtropics. Banana is a staple food for millions of people, particularly in Africa
(Daniells
2009
). It is also the most important fruit crop in world trade with about
16.2 Mt being exported in 2010. It is this latter aspect of export where bananas
manifest as the quintessential plantation crop.
The world trade in bananas was valued in excess of US$ 8 B in 2009 (FAO
2012
). Over 80 % of the export production comes from just 6 countries in the tropics
(Fig.
8.7
) and the total area involved is in excess of half a million hectares (Daniells
2006
) and employs millions of workers. Latin America and the Caribbean account
for 78 % of export banana production because of relative proximity to the major
markets of North America and Europe. Most of the production is sold competitively
on free markets in North America, Europe, the Arabian Gulf States and Japan.
Brief History
The banana export trade began in the 1860s with shipments of Gros Michel bunches
from Central America and the Caribbean to North America (Simmonds
1966
). The
trade in bananas expanded rapidly as individuals/companies realised the profits that
could be made from the fruit. During the 1870s, there were 114 banana companies
registered in the U.S. However, only 22 of these lasted until the end of the century
