Banana production in Brazil
Banana production in Brazil accounts for approximately 10% of the entire world banana production, making Brazil a major banana-producing country in the world. Production has steadily increased over the years, rising from 5.4 million tonnes in 1997 to almost 7 million tonnes in 2007. In 2000, Brazil was fourth, behind India, Uganda and Ecuador, in banana production. By 2006, Brazil became the second largest banana-producer, behind only India, followed by China, Ecuador and the Philippines. Most of the bananas produced are consumed domestically. Gross exports has increased from 12.5 thousand tonnes in 1995 to more than 220 thousand tonnes in 2002 and 2003, mostly to neighbours Argentina and Uruguay, but these figures are still far behind industry leaders such as Ecuador, Costa Rica, the Philippines and Colombia which export more than a million tonnes of bananas annually.
Turbana
As a pioneer in fair trade, Turbana was the first importer of fairtrade bananas in North America. The company's certified fruit comes from thirty Uniban-operated fairtrade-certified farms in Colombia that uphold the promise of food safety, consistent product quality, environmental sustainability, and excellent labor conditions. To date, Uniban is the largest certified grower of bananas in the world. Turbana and Uniban have utilized fair trade practices, even before certification existed, to provide financial and technical support, safe working conditions, economic development, education, fair prices and a better quality of life for their farmers. Turbana and Uniban work alongside fair trade's governing bodies to contribute a portion of each purchase to a social premium that will benefit the farm workers. This premium is invested in education, housing, microloans, health and sustainability projects in the growing regions.