The banana trade represents one of the world’s most important fresh supply chains. In the United States alone, banana imports are valued at an average of $2.3 billion a year, according to USDA data. Those U.S. imports come primarily from Guatemala (39.7%), Costa Rica (17.6%), Ecuador (14%), Honduras (9%) and Mexico (8.7%).

These are the top FreshFruitPortal.com headlines so far this year about the global banana trade.

Disease-resistant banana could be Costa Rica's first GM product

Researchers in Costa Rica are expected to release the country’s first-genome edited product, a disease-resistant banana variety, later this year.

A report by the U.S. Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) in San José says the banana would offer resistance to Black Sigatoka and Fusarium wilt, diseases that reduce yield and profitability for growers worldwide.

Chiquita hit with witness issues in ongoing paramilitary financing case

Resolution remains out of sight in a two-decade, multidistrict case involving Chiquita Brands and allegations over payments to a Colombian paramilitary group. This month, U.S. District Judge Kenneth A. Marra dismissed three expert witnesses offered by both the banana company and plaintiffs.

The firm is accused of funding right-wing Colombian paramilitary group United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC), a group linked to the brutalizing of civilians during the late 90s and early 2000s.

Judge Marra’s decision comes before two bellwether trials set for April 22 and mid-July. The case against Chiquita has been pending since 2008.

Column: Bananas have been too cheap for decades

Alistair Smith, Banana Link International Coordinator, says the prices paid per box to banana producers is nowhere near sustainable. Things are going to have to change, he says, and retail buyers are going to have to deal with it.

“In any case, the economics of selling bananas too cheaply makes no sense. Growers are increasingly squeezed between the demands for increasing social and environmental standards on the one hand and prices that do not reflect the costs of sustainable production on the other.”

The bigger picture of Trader Joe’s banana price increase

The 19-cent banana, long a facet at U.S. supermarket Trader Joe’s, is a thing of the past. The company announced customers will now pay 23 cents per banana.

Trader Joe’s, known for its wide array of unique products and comparably low market prices, told FreshFruitPortal.com by email that the decision to increase the price by almost 20% was made because of cost changes. 

Banana exporters charged in Colombia with financing paramilitary group

Colombia’s Attorney General issued indictments on Tuesday against 14 producers and representatives of banana exporters for the crime of financing a paramilitary group.

The accusations relate to activities carried out between 1996 and 2004, according to the Attorney General, and resulted in payments amounting to 33,392 million pesos to the front Arlex Hurtado of the now defunct United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC).

“These people apparently paid the paramilitary structure three cents per box of bananas that left the country for international markets,” the Attorney General’s office said. “In exchange, the leaders of the illegal armed group agreed to provide them with security and allow them to continue their commercial operations in Urabá, Antioquia.”

APHIS loosens fresh banana and plantain inspections

Regulations for fresh banana and plantain imports were updated by APHIS’s Plant Protection and Quarantine (PPQ) and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Customs and Border Protection (CBP). The update will expand the Risk-Based Sampling at Ports of Entry (RBS POE) program for these imports.

The protocol aims to reduce inspections on commodities compliant with current pest and disease regulations. Additionally, RBS POE seeks to provide incentives for producers to increase product quality.

Fresh fruit consumer prices in US score moderate increase

The March Consumer Price Index (CPI) for fresh fruits in the United States is slightly up by 0.2%, a recent USDA report said. The CPI provides an indication of general retail prices.

In January and February, banana imports from main suppliers like Guatemala, Costa Rica and Ecuador were higher year-on-year. This prompted a 3.4 and 2.5% drop in average retail prices.

World Banana Forum tackles TR4, gender equity and wages

Among the event’s top agenda items were gender equity, living wages for workers and prevention of Fusarium TR4 or Panama Disease.

Sustainable Development Specialist Camila Reinhardt Hurtado said the issue of gender equity would kick off the week. 

“It's a prominent issue facing the banana industry, and we consider it important to be able to dedicate sufficient time to discuss the various challenges faced by women in the banana industry,” Reinhardt Hurtado told FreshFruitPortal.com.

“Women in the industry face several issues, one of the main ones being access to employment opportunities in what is traditionally a male-dominated industry, especially in opportunities for more stable, higher paying jobs and also within leadership positions.”

Dole kicks off 125th Banana-versary celebration

Dole Food Company kicked off Feb. 1 as its Banana-versary, marking 125 years of farming, shipping, and selling bananas. Bananas are the  #1 fruit in America and one of the most-purchased grocery items in history.  

Ecuadorian bananas prepare to enter China

A trade agreement between Ecuador and China began this year, and that could mean exports for Ecuadorian bananas begin to the Asian country. We spoke with José Antonio Hidalgo, executive director of the Association of Banana Exporters of Ecuador (AEBE) and coordinator of the Ecuadorian Banana Cluster.

The trade agreement, signed last year, went to the Constitutional Court where it was ratified and is now being discussed at the National Assembly.

Hidalgo said, "if everything goes well, I believe that by mid-year, we could already be feeling tariff reductions.”

Russia bans 30% of Ecuadorian banana exports

Russia's Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Supervision (Rosselkhoznadzor) announced a temporary ban on Ecuadorian banana exports effective February 5 after the discovery of polyphagous humpback fly (Megaselia scalaris Loew), in shipments from five Ecuadorian exporters.

These five companies represent around 30% of all Ecuadorian banana exports to Russia. 

Russia lifts ban against Ecuadorian bananas

After a brief 30% ban on Ecuadorian banana exports to Russia, the Ecuadorian Foreign Ministry informed that authorities have lifted the ban and shipments can resume normally.

Russia accounts for about 22% of Ecuadorian banana exports, generates approximately 30,000 jobs and reports profits ranging from $2.8 to $3 billion for the country's fruit industry.

First GM banana release takes aim at Panama disease

The Australian government issued the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) official authorization to commercially release a new genetically modified (GM) Cavendish banana variety.

The QCAV-4 banana is the world’s first GM banana to be approved for commercial production, as well as the first Australian GM fruit approved for growing in Australia.

Professor Dale and his team have been working on developing and growing genetically modified Cavendish bananas for more than 20 years.

Banana shipment leads to UK’s largest cocaine seizure on record

The UK National Crime Agency and Border Control released details of a record 5.7-tonne Class A drug seizure of cocaine in a South American banana shipment. 

Agents discovered the illicit cargo in early February at the Southampton Port in southern England. Law enforcement said it appeared to be destined for Hamburg, Germany. The drugs have an estimated street value of around £450 million or US$570 million.

Report: Criminal networks, led by European mafias, jeopardize Latin American fruit exports

One example highlighted in the Europol report involves banana exports from Ecuador, where drug trafficking networks have targeted some fruit companies. 

The case speaks of an Italian businessman of Argentinean origin residing in Marbella, who uses his companies to conceal both drug trafficking and money laundering activities.

“He manages several companies, including one importing bananas from Ecuador to the EU,” the report says. “An Albanian accomplice, based in Ecuador, takes care of the import of cocaine from Colombia to Ecuador and the subsequent distribution to the EU.”