Banana Wars Impact on the Caribbean

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKLXpm9nrT0&sns=em

Introducing...The Banana Wars

The European Union, United States, and several Latin American countries were involved in several trade disputes for over 16 years. All these disputes revolved around the high tariffs for importing bananas to the European Union. The EU doesn’t impose any duties on European colonies in Africa, the Caribbean, and the Pacific because many of these countries are former European colonies. The EU does charge duties on imports from other countries. Tariffs were introduced in 1993 to replace trade agreements of individual European countries. (bbc news) Several countries have been affected by these tariffs including: the Dominican Republic, Honduras, Cameroon, Belize, and Mexico.

Brief History

The banana wars started in 1993 and lasted until about 2009. The first Europe-wide tariffs to non-ACP countries were introduced in 1993. In 1996 Latin American countries lead by Ecuador complained to the WTO about the tariffs. The tariffs were declared illegal in 1999, and then a new EU deal on tariffs is rejected by the US in 2000. The banana wars are declared over in 2001 when a deal is made by the EU and the US promising a change by 2006. The tariffs are then declared illegal again in 2005 and 2008. The EU signs a deal with Latin American producers in hope to bring an end to the banana wars. (bbc news) The banana wars have been considered over since then.

Banana Producers

Eighty percent of the international trade of bananas is made by 5 major banana producers. These major producers  are Chiquita, Dole, Del Monte, Noboa, and Fyffes. The top three corporation’s products are called “dollar bananas”. These corporations have excessively long hours, low wages, and deny trade union rights and freedom of association. Only about 12% of the income for bananas stays in the producing country. Plantation workers take about 7-10%, while small farm workers only get about 2 percent. Banana producers are always pressured to lower the prices and wages. (Martin Frazier from peoplesworld.org) The major producers get paid a lot more then the smaller producers that depend on banana production to survive.
    Bananas grown by different producers are sold in different countries. Latin American bananas are controlled by major corporations on large plantations. Most Latin American bananas are sold in North America. Caribbean bananas are grown on small family farms and cooperatives that are represented by the Union. Caribbean bananas are sold to the European Union, but mostly to the UK. Latin American producers and Caribbean producers have a very different labor price. Latin American producers pay wages of $5 a day while Caribbean producers pay about $15 a day. (Martin Frazier from peoplesworld.org) The larger companies that sell much more than the family farms pay their employees less than what the family farms pay their employees.

Banana Facts

Bananas are one of the top five most important traded fruits in the world. They are the second most important fruit traded in the word only to grapes. About 65 tons of bananas are produced yearly around the world. Bananas are mainly grown in Africa,Asia,the Caribbean, and Latin American countries because of their favorable growing conditions. Almost 30 percent of the Windward islands' cultivated land is growing bananas. Bananas are so tender that the farmers take extra precaution and use chemical pesticides. In 2006 there was an estimated 280 different pesticides allowed to be used in banana production. (Martin Frazier from peoplesworld.org) It's crazy to think about a simple banana being the second most important fruit in the world.

Conclusion

The banana wars started in 1993 when the first Europe-wide tariff to non-ACP countries was introduced. Latin American countries complained to the WTO many times until the tariffs were finally removed. Eighty percent of trade is made by five major corporations with long hours, and low wages. Bananas grown in Latin American countries are sold mostly to the United States, while bananas grown in the Caribbean are sold to Europe. Bananas are the second most important traded fruit in the world. Bananas are so important that they have literally started wars.

Works Cited

Works Cited

BBC. "Q&A: The Banana Wars." BBC News. BBC, 15 Dec. 2009. Web. 05 May 2012. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8390099.stm>.

BBC. "EU Cuts Import Tariffs in a Bid to End 'banana Wars'" BBC News. BBC, 15 Dec. 2009. Web. 09 May 2012. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8391752.stm>.

Frazier, Martin. "Caribbean Banana Farmers: Livelihoods on the Line." Caribbean Banana Farmers: Livelihoods on the Line » Peoplesworld. Peoples World, 25 July 2005. Web. 05 June 2012. <http://peoplesworld.org/caribbean-banana-farmers-livelihoods-on-the-line/>.