Gobar Times Magazine (Environment for Kids Monthly) - Centre for Science and Environment

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A Banana is just one example of a commodity produced in low income countries and consumed in industrialised countries.

More than 90 per cent of the price paid by consumers like Bob stays in the industrialised country, of which the biggest bite is taken by the retailers - dominant supermarkets and chain stores.

Hardly a fair split, this, when most of the risks of production are taken by the low-income countries.

If fair wages were to be paid and proper care were taken against environmental damage, there would be no price difference between a Dollar Banana and a banana from a low-income Caribbean or Asian country.

Now, That doesn’t seem too tasty, does it?

The Yellow Kings

Chiquita, Dole and Del Monte. The three top banana companies, controlling two-thirds of world banana exports.

Some facts:
Del Monte is owned by a Chile-based, Miami-controlled conglomerate, backed by money from the United Arab Emirates.

Fyffes, another biggie in the banana trade, was once owned by United Fruit and is now based in Ireland.

Noboa is the biggest banana company in Ecuador. It is owned by the richest man in Latin America.
So, who said a banana is a simple yellow fruit?

Source: www.bananalink.org.uk