In the United States bananas are sold year round at every super market nation wide. With the produce aisle always stocked with 'fresh' bananas, do you ever stop to think where they are coming from? According to Info Comm: Market Information in the Commodities, Latin America and the Caribbean supplied 70% of banana exports in 2006, Central America imported an average of 70% throughout 2000-2010.
Published author Anup Shah wrote an article for Global Issues January 3, 2010 entitled; "The Banana Trade War". Intially the headline caught my attention; it is simple and straight forward. The article itself may not be so simple and straight forward but Shah does a great job reporting the details on the Banana Trade War while remaining un- biased.
Shah begins the article by giving a little background information about the trade war as well as the organizations involved.
Shah begins the article by giving a little background information about the trade war as well as the organizations involved.
September 1997, WTO (World Trade Organization) decided local farmers must compete with multinational companies as a way of moving toward free trade. The ACP (African, Caribbean, Pacific) doesn't feel ready to go along with WTO's decision. Oxfam (an organization aimed to fight poverty) feels the new agreement is extremely beneficiary to the European Union by giving them an upper hand in bargaining position.
March 1999, Washington started to pick and choose what countries they would except EU goods from; proving powerful countries have the ability to do as they feel whenever they feel necessary no matter how it affects other countries. Large companies such as Chiquita complained it was unfair trade.
March 1999, Washington started to pick and choose what countries they would except EU goods from; proving powerful countries have the ability to do as they feel whenever they feel necessary no matter how it affects other countries. Large companies such as Chiquita complained it was unfair trade.
In the article, Shah raised an excellent question without literally asking the reader; If Chiquita was exposed in 1998 for their horrible work tactics and illegal activities, do they really have the right to complain about un-fair tactics?
Shah ended the article by explaining the conditions workers in third world countries must endure. Who is truly at fault, the companies enforcing the conditions or the larger countries demanding the product?
Supermarkets are demanding lower prices for consumers, the money used to lower prices is being taken from plantation workers pay. These workers work long hours in poor conditions for very little pay. With the Caribbean being dependent on the banana industry workers have no choice but work in lousy conditions for low pay. According to the article larger countries have been manipulating smaller countries to be dependent upon them for many years to reap the economic benefits. If small countries depend on large countries, in what way is fair trade considered fair?
Article link: http://www.globalissues.org/article/63/the-banana-trade-war
Video on banana wars in the Caribbean: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKLXpm9nrT0
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