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The Banana Industries of Costa Rica and Dominica in a Time of Change
Author(s) -
Wiley James
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
tijdschrift voor economische en sociale geografie
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.766
H-Index - 55
eISSN - 1467-9663
pISSN - 0040-747X
DOI - 10.1111/1467-9663.00007
Subject(s) - latin americans , competition (biology) , variety (cybernetics) , european union , international trade , scale (ratio) , economy , business , economics , geography , political science , cartography , biology , ecology , artificial intelligence , computer science , law
The July 1993 implementation of a new banana importation regime by the European Union (EU) raised the level of competition between banana exporters in Latin America and the Caribbean. This article profiles the banana industries of Costa Rica and Dominica as case studies representing these two groups of exporters. It considers the origins, scale, structure and trading patterns of the industry in each, utilising a variety of data from primary and secondary sources, commentary from interviews, and personal observations by the author from the field. Subsequently, it briefly reviews the changes in world trading regulations stipulated by the EU and those forthcoming from GATT and its new World Trade Organisation. In conclusion, the article suggests what kind of banana future lies ahead for each country.