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CORBANA Celebrates its 35th
Anniversary
CORBANA, Corporación Bananera
Nacional - the Costa Rican
national banana producers
association, celebrates its 35th
anniversary at the trade fair of
Fruit Logistica in Berlin,
Germany.
The pop-art style designed stand
highlights Corbana’s bananas as
a piece of art, representing
Corbana’s pioneering role in
social and environmental issues.
Founded in February 1971, the
association has over the last
three decades worked diligently
to raise the productivity within
the framework of sustainable
agriculture. Jorge Sauma, CEO of
CORBANA, declares that “it is
important to reiterate and
highlight that Costa Rica has
notably developed over the last
35 years a banana production
model based on high social and
environmental standards implying
greater production costs than
those countries that do not
apply such policies.”
Costa Rica, the second largest
banana exporter in the world, is
the only banana exporting
country in Latin America that
has a true social policy and a
comprehensive approach to worker
welfare. Banana workers and
their families are provided with
free housing, education, medical
services, illness prevention
programs and other tools and
protection equipment to ensure a
safe working environment.
Thanks to its innovative
research projects, technical
support and new marketing
strategies, CORBANA has managed
to produce bananas of high
quality, taking into account the
environment as well as the
social security infrastructure.
Costa Rican bananas are reputed
for being among the most
environmentally sustainable in
the world.
Costa Rica is the second largest
banana exporter after Ecuador.
In 2004, it exported 98.5
million banana boxes worth € 540
million, representing 9% of its
total exports. The banana
industry generates 40 000 direct
jobs and another 100 000
indirectly.
Clearly, European consumers
appreciate the high social and
environmental standards employed
in the banana production process
in Costa Rica. Costa Rica is the
second largest supplier of
bananas to the European Union
(the supply represents 28% of
the EU imports from Latin
America).
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