Embeddedness of Chiquita’s Banana Production in Panama: The potential to mitigate social and ecological problems

摘要

The study examines the banana produc6onopera6ons of Chiquita in the remote region ofChanguinola in Panama and contrasts it withexperiences from Guatemala and Costa Rica. Ofpar6cular interest are the local context and thesocio-economic framework condi6ons in which thecompany is opera6ng. They are essen6al to assessingthe embeddedness of the company in the region.Moreover, they influence the poten6al of theenterprise to provide posi6ve sustainability effectsthrough its business ac6vi6es for the localcommunity, the local economy and the localenvironment. The study analyses how the use oftechnology, standards and partnerships can help tomi6gate the significant social and ecologicalproblems in the indigenous communi6es in Panama.It also highlights which areas the Chiquita companywould need to address to improve its sustainabilityand further embed the company in Panama. Themain recommenda6ons are deduced from interviewswith local experts and workers in the bananaplanta6ons.