All About Bananas | Producers, Where They're Grown & Why They Matter

Origins & Early Trade

First fruit on earth?

Some horticulturists believe that bananas were the first fruit on earth. Their origin is placed in Southeast Asia, in the jungles of Malaysia, Indonesia or the Philippines. where many varieties of wild bananas still grow today. Africans are credited to have given the present name, since the word banana would be derived from the Arab for ‘finger’.

Bananas started to be traded internationally by the end of the fourteenth century. The development of railroads and technological advances in refrigerated maritime transport subsequently enable bananas to become the most traded fruit in the world.

Why Bananas Matter

Export Revenues

Bananas constitute a significant portion of the export revenues for many Latin American, African and Caribbean countries. For example, banana exports account for a quarter of Ecuador’s total non-petroleum exports, and Ecuador accounts for around 30% of world banana market supply.

Employment & Income

They are an essential source of income and employment for many households, as well as being a source of nutrition and food security for more than 400 million people in producer countries. However, only 15 to 20% of the world’s banana production is traded internationally. The largest producer India exports almost nothing, whilst Brazil exports very little, keeping bananas for the domestic market.

Trade injustice

Bananas are also emblematic of the growing power of supermarkets along global supply chains and of the wide range of injustices present in international trade today, including unacceptable working and living conditions for many who grow and harvest the bananas, the suppression of independent trade unions and a unfair sharing of profits along the chain.

There are also failures to respect decent health and safety standards, and the evidence of the devastation caused to human health and the natural environment by toxic chemicals and intensive monoculture plantation production is increasingly evident.

Read more about the social, corporate and environmental problems with bananas.

How are bananas grown?

People often assume that the banana fruit grows on trees, however, the banana is a high herb which can grow up to 15 metres. There are over 1000 different varieties of bananas growing around the world, subdivided into 50 groups. Some are sweet, like the Cavendish variety, which is the most common and most widely exported. It is named after Musa Cavendishii and was first grown at Chatsworth House in the UK in 1830.

The banana is a perennial plant that replaces itself. Bananas do not grow from a seed but from a bulb or rhizome, and it takes 9 to 12 months from sowing a banana bulb to harvesting the fruit. The banana flower appears in the sixth or seventh month. Unlike other fruit like apples which have a growing season, bananas are available all year round.

Banana plants thrive in tropical regions where the average temperature is 80° F (27° C) and the yearly rainfall is between 78 and 98 inches. Most bananas exported are grown within 30 degrees either side of the equator. The plants need rich, dark and fertile soils with steady moisture in the air and ground and good drainage.

Banana plantations are predominantly found in Latin America. They require huge investment in infrastructure and technology for transport, irrigation, drainage and packing facilities. On the other hand, in the Eastern Caribbean, farmers tend to use smallholder production. This system is less capital intensive and more labour intensive, and is present because the physical features of the area mean it is not possible to use the plantation system.

Growing bananas is, in general, labour intensive. It involves clearing jungle growth, propping of the plants to counter bending from the weight of the growing fruit, and irrigation in some regions. As well as an intensive use of pesticides, the conventional production process involves covering banana bunches with polyethylene bags to protect them from wind, insect and bird attacks, and to maintain optimum temperatures.

Harvesting & Ripening

After nine months, the bananas are harvested while still green. At the packhouse they are inspected and sorted for export. Buyers of fruit in the UK want unbruised bananas and so very high standards are set. If the bananas do not meet these standards they are usually sold locally at a much lower price.

The fruit is then transported to ports to be packed in refrigerated ships called reefers (bananas take between six and twelve days to get to the UK/Europe). In order to increase shelf life, they are transported at a temperature of 13.3°C, and require careful handling in order to prevent damage. Humidity, ventilation and temperature conditions are also carefully monitored in order to maintain quality.

When the bananas arrive at their destination port they are first sent to ripening rooms (a process involving ethylene gas) and then sent to the shops.

Where Are Export Bananas Grown?

Bananas are grown in more than 150 countries, and 105 million tonnes of fruit are produced each year. Bananas which are grown for local consumption are generally grown in traditional, extensive systems.

Bananas for export to North America and Europe,and other tropical fruit like pineapples, are grown in the tropical regions of Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean, and the Pacific. Most tropical fruit available in British supermarkets is exported from Latin America, the Caribbean and West Africa.

The Dessert banana, like the Cavendish variety, are of huge economic importance to many countries in the Global South, and they account for 43 million tonnes. and the Plantain account for 45 million tonnes. Locally consumed bananas are a staple food in many tropical countries and play a major role in terms of food security.

^{Source: FAO}

Latin America …

dominates the global banana export economy. The fruit represents an important source of income for these countries. Latin American countries export to Europe, North America, Russia and, more recently, China. The majority of Europe’s bananas and pineapples come from countries in Latin America, like Ecuador which is the world’s largest banana exporter, Costa Rica which is the world’s largest pineapple exporter, Colombia and Guatemala.

Large scale production

Typically, Central American bananas are grown on large-scale monoculture plantations covering several hundred hectares each. This form of production uses high levels of chemical inputs to increase crop yield. Labour conditions can be very poor, with workers required to work long hours for wages that are insufficient to meet basic needs. Rights of free association and collective bargaining are often denied and ‘union-busting’ is common in the region. The large plantations are also frequently responsible for damaging environmental impacts.

Ecuador, Colombia and Peru are the only countries among the major Latin American exporters that still have small banana farmers exporting alongside the large-scale plantations. Across South America, and especially in Peru, some 10,000 small farmers sell to the world market, often thanks to organic and Fairtrade certification. In Ecuador, the smallholders often fulfil a kind of buffer function for the big banana exporters: they buy from small producers when the demand on the international market is high, but if there is less demand, the small producers are often forced to sell their produce at a loss.

Africa …

Almost all African countries produce a significant amount of bananas and plantains, but only a few actually export fresh dessert bananas. West and Central African countries – Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana and Cameroon – produce nearly all of Africa’s banana exports. Production in this region has grown rapidly over the past 20 years. The vast majority of these bananas are sold in Europe, mainly in France and the UK.

In 2005, the French Compagnie Fruitière invested in a large new plantation in Ghana, alongside an independent Fairtrade plantation that was already in operation.

In Côte d’Ivoire large and medium-scale plantations are in the hands of either the French multinational Compagnie Fruitière or other French Caribbean and Belgian companies.

In Cameroon, three large-scale plantations are owned by the State (currently not exporting because of the crisis in the Anglophone Southwest region), Compagnie Frutière and a smaller national company.

Caribbean …

The Dominican Republic is the only major banana exporter in the Caribbean, focusing both on export and local consumption. While much of the production is for domestic markets, a significant portion is exported, particularly to the United States and Europe.

The Dominican Republic, has a mix of small farmers, medium-scale and a handful of large-scale plantations, although around two thirds are produced organically, and around 60-70% are also certified Fairtrade.

Global economics and adverse climate events since the turn of the millennium have led to other countries in the Caribbean, including the Windward Islands, to no longer export their bananas to Europe. Surviving banana farms largely supply only local Caribbean markets. The only exception being St Lucia, which exports a modest amount of bananas to Canada and Europe.

Banana Producers

The Traditional Multinationals (42% combined market share)

In the 1980s, the top multinationals controlled over 65% of global exports. Today, their collective market share sits slightly above 40%:

Chiquita Brands International: Holds approximately 13% of the global export market. It remains an industry leader with dominant retail channels across North America and Europe. Chiquita Brands International S.à.r.l. is one of the world’s most recognisable fresh produce brands, standing as a dominant global producer and distributor of bananas. Following its privatisation, the multinational company transitioned its global corporate headquarters to Étoy, Vaud, Switzerland, while maintaining its primary Americas operational hub in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Fresh Del Monte Produce: Holds approximately 12% of the global export market. Del Monte Corporation — historically known as Fresh Del Monte Produce Inc. — is a major American agricultural multinational and a leading global producer, marketer, and distributor of fresh-cut fruits and vegetables. Legally incorporated in the Cayman Islands, its global executive headquarters are located in Coral Gables, Florida.
Dole Food Company: Holds approximately 11% of the global export market. Dole Food Company is a major brand and legacy component of Dole plc, an Irish-American agricultural multinational corporation that stands as one of the world’s largest producers and distributors of fresh fruit and vegetables.
Fyffes: Holds approximately 6% of the global export market. Based in Ireland, its primary distribution footprint is focused on European markets. Fyffes is one of the world’s oldest tropical fruit brands, best known as the largest importer of bananas in Europe and the number one importer of Fairtrade bananas globally.

Large Regional & National Producers – (35% combined market share)

National groups and regional heavyweights supply global grocery giants directly or work as contracted growers for the top brands. They collectively represent more than one-third of the global trade:

Compagnie Fruitière: Operates as a prominent European multinational, dominating production and export routes from West and Central Africa (chiefly Côte d’Ivoire, Cameroon, and Ghana) into the EU.
Agroamérica: A major sustainable agribusiness group based in Guatemala. It is one of the top independent exporters feeding the North American and European specialty/conventional lines.
Grupo Wong (Favorita Fruit Company): One of Ecuador’s premier independent export operators. Operating out of the world’s single largest banana-exporting nation, the group moves millions of boxes under strict environmental metrics annually.
Grupo Noboa: Based in Ecuador, this logistics powerhouse historically commands roughly 2% of the total global export market, moving its primary agricultural footprint worldwide under the globally recognized Bonita brand.
Grupo HAME: A family-owned Guatemalan production titan managing thousands of hectares of fruit. It is a vital pillar behind Guatemala’s rise as the foremost banana supplier to the United States market.
Grupo Acón: A leading national exporter based in Costa Rica that owns over 8,600 hectares of local plantations. It works alongside multinationals to drive Costa Rica’s placement as a top five global supplier.

Small & Independent Producers – (23% combined market share)

The remaining 23% of the international export trade is highly decentralidsed, managed by smaller local independent growers, fair-trade cooperatives, and independent trading houses.