Fresh Del Monte Produce, Coral Gables, Florida, USA

Fresh Del Monte, now completely separate from Del Monte Foods, is 52% owned by the IAT Group, property of the Jordanian Palestinian Abu-Ghazalleh family. A 10% share still appears to belong to the Mexican government, after the leader of the conortium of previous Mexican entrepreneurs was jailed for money laundering offences. Fresh Del Monte owns or part-owns operations in Costa Rica, Guatemala, Cameroon and Brazil, and buys from national producers in Costa Rica, Guatemala, Ecuador, the Philippines and Panama.

Together with Dole, Del Monte has been the major supporter of the Solidarista movement in Costa Rica - a form of worker-management association that has threatened the existence of independent trade unions. The International Labour Organisation (ILO) does not regard Solidarista Associations as independent workers' organisations. These associations have been used to conduct a campaign of psychological warfare against workers who choose to join independent unions (for more information, read the Banana Link / War On Want leaflet on Solidarismo).

In October 1999, Del Monte's subsidiary in Guatemala, Bandegua, fired almost 1,000 unionised workers. This mass firing sparked a violent conflict when Bandegua's workers took a decision that all workers would take advantage of the clause in their contract that allowed them to take 10 days unpaid leave. The day before this mass walk-out, union leaders from the banana workers' union SITRABI were forced from their homes at gunpoint. Surrounded by 200 armed men, that allegedly included Bandegua's chief of security, the union leaders were forced to resign from their jobs within the company and the union, and read statements on radio calling off the action. The leaders were told never to return to the area. The United Nations' Mission in Guatemala (MINUGUA) described this as the worst violation of human rights in recent years in the country. The armed men who perpetrated the assault are free, and it is unlikely they will ever spend time in jail. Del Monte subsequently leased the plantations to Guatemalan nationals who hired non-unionised workers for less pay and greatly reduced benefits. Five of SITRABI's leaders were forced into exile in the USA.

In March 2000, under international pressure, Del Monte was forced to negotiate an agreement with the International Union of Food and Agricultural Workers (IUF) which set a framework for a negotiated settlement. The agreement allowed for the return to work of all those who wanted to, and continued representation by SITRBI, along with a single contract covering the three plantations. However, the national producers continue to make negotiations with SITRABI almost impossible, and Del Monte has failed to intervene constructively.

In Costa Rica, in Sepember 1999, Del Monte sacked its entire workforce, then offered to rehire workers on 30-50% lower wages, and worse conditions than before. It maintains a highly aggressive campaign against unionisation in its plantations. The unions have been forced back into clandestine operation after a 1997 campaign – involving British NGOs and the trade union SITRAP - had forced the company to allow their freedom to operate. A written agreement with SITRAP, signed in December 1997, was eventually declared formally null and void in early 2006 by the union.

In 2004, the company’s subsidiary, Bandegua, sold several plantations in the Atlantic Coast region of Guatemala and the company invested in new land in the Pacific region (although the registered names of the owners are Guatemalan nationals). The Atlantic Coast region (province of Izabal)had established unions whereas the Pacific was largely 'union free' and offered the prospect of paying lower wages and avoiding the costs of social protection. However, against the trend, Bandegua opened up several hundred hectares of new plantations in Izabal in late 2005.

Del Monte took the lead in what may well turn out to be a major new direction for the international banana companies by opening up new plantations in the Vale do Ass? in Rio Grande do Norte State and the Vale of Jaguaribe in the state of Cear? (production of melons). Since 2002, the company has been exporting cheap Brazilian bananas,  to meet part of its exclusive contract with retail giant Asda/WalMart in the UK. Using cheap Del Monte bananas from Cameroon and Brazil, the supermarket started a banana price war which other retailers have joined, resulting in savage cuts in the prices paid to banana suppliers. These price cuts by the supermarkets are forcing suppliers to source 'cheap' bananas from countries where wages are lowest and conditions poorest.

At the end of 2005, news went out (on The Deal) that FDP was to be sold by auction. According to rumours, Fyffes and others were interested in buying the company. When rumours started at the end of 2005 the share price initially went up, but when potential buyers reportedly withdrew their interest the price fell again. Some commentators believe that the whole exercise was geared towards lowering the share price so that the Abu-Ghazalleh family could buy a bigger share of the company at a reduced price. In March 2006, the company announced it would be buying back up to US$300 million worth of its own equity.

Further Reading

Quick Scan: Del Monte's and Dole's Policy on Selected Critical Issues in the Canned Pineapple Supply Chain, SOMO, Amsterdam, April 2005