Cavendish Banana
Map Locations

Cavendish Banana

 

Magdalena, Columbia.

How is it produced?

Banana production in Colombia is generally labor intensive as it involves land/jungle clearing, propping of the plants to counter bending from the weight of the growing fruit, as well as irrigation in some regions. Generally, it takes 9 to 12 months from planting a banana bulb to harvesting the matured fruit.

Describe the supply chain to the store shelf in Canada:

Cavendish bananas pass through many stages in the supply chain right from planting in Colombia before final arrival at their different destination in Canada. Bananas are exported out of Colombia through the Atlantic coast via port cities like Santa Marta on refrigerated containers or ships called reefers. Multinationals like Dole plc and Chiquita have the largest share of reefers transporting bananas out of Colombia. Transported by sea under controlled humid conditions, the bananas from Colombia find their way to the ports like Port Tampa Bay in Florida, United States, where Chiquita has a refrigerated warehouse for storing the bananas and other perishable goods before eventual distribution to Canada and other parts of the United States. Due to an equivalency arrangement Canada has with the U.S, bananas from countries like Colombia are accredited and certified by the Canadian Organic Regime (COR) in the U.S and imported into Canada, from where they are hauled to banana ripening centers, where an ethylene generator is used to spur the bananas to optimal ripeness before distribution to retail stores across Canada.

What is the power balance between the producer and seller?

Despite multinationals like Dole plc and Chiquita, conforming to the Voluntary Sustainability Standards (VSS) established by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development such as the Global G.A.P., Rainforest Alliance, Fairtrade, etcetera, which mandates multinational banana producers and exporters to follow certain environmental/organic and labor standards, data from (GIZ, 2021) show that banana plantation workers in Colombia are still not earning a living wage equivalent to what is needed for a nutritious diet, decent housing, health care, education, clothing, and other essential expenses. Dole Plc particularly have been accused by banana workers of hiring them on short-term contracts rather than granting them permanent employment, which allows them to avoid paying for benefits and prevents these employees from organizing and collectively bargaining for better working conditions and  benefits. Activities of multinationals like Dole plc and Chiquita in Colombia through banana exports undoubtedly contribute to jobs and national GDP, but like I pointed out earlier, multinationals like Dole plc and Chiquita deploy anti-union tactics, including funding illegal militias to keep wages low and leveraging international free trade agreements to obtain tax and tariff concessions, all of which shapes the banana industry in Colombia to the disadvantage of Colombian locals, from banana workers to small banana producers.

Can you recommend changes to the system to improve the balance?

I strongly recommend that the Colombian government enforce stricter labor laws to prevent short-term contract abuse and ensure that banana workers receive permanent employment with full benefits.

The government of Colombia should introduce a mandatory living wage for agricultural workers, ensuring that multinational companies pay wages that cover basic needs.

Laws protecting freedom of association and collective bargaining must be strengthened to prevent companies from intimidating or retaliating against unionized workers.

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