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The international banana trade

Julian Roche

 - origins and growth of the world trade
 - the role of the multinationals and other companies
 - analysis of individual producer countries
 - political implications
 - the future of the industry

The unique characteristic of the international banana trade is distinguished from other commodity trades by the intensity of its politics and the importance of a small number of companies which have dominated the trade for over
a hundred years.

This book provides a comprehensive guide to the trade in the world's most popular fruit. Covering all aspects of the trade from patterns of production and consumption to pricing trends, from details of the companies involved to consideration of international political constraints.

Analysts and policy makers within the trade or governmental organisations, economists, food retailers, marketing professionals and students of international affairs need look no further for a reliable reference guide to this complex
trade.

ISBN 1 85573 405 2
ISBN-13: 978 1 85573 405 0
November 1998
288 pages  234 x 156mm  hardback  
£145.00 / US$245.00 / €180.00

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About the author

Julian Rocheis the Managing Director of RER, a commodities and real estate consultancy. Projects currently underway are in the areas of business confidence statistics, forecasting software and agricultural futures contracts. He formerly worked in the London commodities exchange, now part of LIFFE, as a Business Development Manager responsible for technical development and marketing of a range of futures contracts as well as maintaining a watching brief on commodity markets worldwide.

Contents

Bananas
 - Physical characteristics
 - Botany
 - The plant
 - Harvesting, transportation and handling
 - Research

Production
 - Origins of bananas
 - Global production

History of the world trade
 - North American imports
 - European imports
 - Asian markets

Banana imports and consumption
 - Global imports
 - The Americas
 - Europe
 - Asia

International companies
 - Role of the multinationals
 - Chiquita
 - Dole
 - Del Monte
 - Fyffes / Geest
 - National companies
 - The other organisations involved

Production in individual countries
 - Central and South America
 - The Caribbean
 - Africa
 - Asia

EU banana regime
 - The regime
 - The WTO case and its aftermath

The reefer business
 - The scale of the business
 - Pallet or container?

Costs and prices
 - Production costs
 - Prices
 - Forecasting prices

How bananas are traded
 - Contracts
 - Forward selling and reasons for the absence of a futures market
 - Personnel

The future
 - The international trade in the late 1990s
 - Conclusion