How is the Guatemalan Banana Production Value Chain Formed?

Although domestic banana production is dominated by small producers, at least 80 percent of exports come from large-scale plantations. 

  - In recent years, production has increasingly shifted from the unionized north to the non-union southern region through outsourcing to local producers. It is now estimated that 85 percent of employment is in the non-union southern region.

There are 4 major banana companies in Guatemala - Chiquita, Dole, Del Monte, and Fyffes

  - Most farms work directly, under contract, with a specific label that will later distribute the bananas in bulk to retailers around the globe

  - Today, Chiquita sources less than 40% of its bananas from its own farms

  - Giant supermarket chains Walmart, Tesco, Carrefour, Aldi, and Lidl are increasingly purchasing bananas not only from these large brands but also directly from local producers

  - It is these large transnational banana companies that set prices in the global banana trade

The market share of the 4 historical banana multinationals Chiquita, Dole, Del Monte and Fyffes has decreased from 67% in 2006 to just a little over 40% in 2019

  - Other multinational companies like Compagnie Fruitière (French)and Agroamérica (Guatemalan) and a large handful of big national companies like Grupo Wong (Ecuador), Grupo HAME (Guatemala) or Grupo Acon (Costa Rica) now account for up to one third of all exports.