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Content: Each of these companies owns banana plantations in most of the banana-producing regions in the world. Figure 4shows that the estimated market share of the six major banana producers/marketers in 2009 was 61 percent as follows: Dole Food Company (19%), Chiquita Brands International (17%), Del Monte Fresh Produce (14%), Fyffes (6%), Exportadora Bananera Noboa (3%), and Reybanpac (2%).The estimated market share of all other companies in 2009 was 39 percent. These estimates are based on public data (companies' annual reports and websites). Figure 4. Distribution of fresh banana imports, 2000–2009. Credit: FAOSTAT (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations)
US Market for Fresh Bananas
Unlike the EU market, the US banana market is free of tariffs or quantitative import restrictions, making it a very competitive market. Measured by value or volume, banana is still the major fresh fruit imported to the United States. In 2000, total shipments of bananas to the United States were valued at $1.02 billion, representing 32 percent of the total value of fresh fruit imports that year (Figure 5).