Multinational Companies in Global Banana Trade Policies

Abstract

This paper presents the structures of the global banana trade management and the role of the multinational companies in shaping the global banana market policies. The paper presents the concentration of production and consumption of the bananas worldwide and analyses the various import policies of the major EU member countries prior to the entry in force in 1993 of the Common Market Organization for Bananas (CMOB). It introduces the subsequent agreements reached between by the EU, US and Latin American countries that led to the implementation of the Tariff-only Policy of the EU banana import regime. The paper assesses the recent policy development, the changing role of the multinational companies in global banana trade, and concludes with the industry outlook and the new role of the retail supermarket chains in international banana trade.