This view of the changing nature of the global banana trade is captured in a new FAO information note and based on analysis of information gathered from the annual reports of the largest multinational banana trading companies.
FAO's review of the three largest banana traders (Chiquita, Dole and Del Monte), shows that the combined market share of the top three companies was at its highest the 1980's, when they controlled almost two-thirds (65.3 percent) of global banana exports, while in 2013, their market share was slightly over one-third (36.6 percent).
In 2013, the market share of the top five companies was 44.4 percent, down from 70 percent in 2002.