Pineapple plants can mostly be found in Latin America and West Africa. In Europe, the majority of pineapples in our market come from Costa Rica, which supplies 75% of the pineapples found in the EU. In fact, the Costa Rican tropical fruit export market was valued at $1.22 billion in 2015.
There are a range of worker roles in the production of pineapples, these vary from land preparation in the field to loading pineapples into boxes in the pack house. The diagram on the right provides an idea of the range of worker roles in the pineapple industry. The red text shows the type of agrochemical used at each stage of the process in conventional large scale production.
Worker conditions can be incredibly difficult. Pineapple plants are spiky and difficult to handle, they grow low to the ground requiring workers to stoop over the plants, and the monoculture production method requires that there is no shade over the plants. Therefore, workers have no respite from the suffocating heat of the day. The majority of large scale plantations are in operation for 24 hours a day. Workers therefore work in shifts of anything from 8 to 14 hours, which vary depending on the time of the shift.
The types of tasks, in both the field and the packing hourses involve using heavy machinery and carrying out repetitive tasks that put a lot of strain on the body (i.e., constant bending over to plant seeds, weed and harvest the pineapples). Some companies are, however, introducing mechanised harvesting which goes some way to reduce the strain on workers.
In recent years, the world pineapple market has expanded rapidly, with production increasing by nearly 50% since 1998. According to FAO statistics, pineapples are the 11th most cultivated fruit, with over 24.8 million tonnes being produced in 2013.
The growing pineapple market is due in part to the popularity of the new ‘Sweet’ or ‘Gold’ pineapple variety which is bigger, has a high sugar content, appealing taste and colour, and is consistent in quality. This variety has sold well since Del Monte launched the first ‘Gold’ pineapple on our supermarket shelves in 1992. The other major fruit companies followed suit.
Most exported pineapples are grown by banana producing companies, often on former banana plantations, employing the same workers and using the same transport and distribution networks. Large-scale pineapple production has the same environmentally damaging effects as banana production, and workers also face social and economic difficulties.
The majority of fresh pineapples sold on the world market are produced in Latin America, with 84% grown in Costa Rica. The majority of production is on large-scale, monoculture plantations owned by a small number of national and multinational fruit companies. The Del Monte fruit company and its subsidiaries produce over 50% of Costa Rica’s pineapple exports. Smaller producers do exist, but many are facing high debts and bankruptcy.
Whilst the major fruit companies such as Del Monte, Dole, Fyffes and Chiquita used to dominate the world pineapple supply chain, the last 10 years have seen a rise in the influence of major retailers. The ‘pineapple split’ graphic below shows the distribution of value along the pineapple supply chain, with retailers now taking the lion’s share – 41%. This share is steadily increasing as retailers seek to buy direct from producers, cutting out the middle men, ie. the multinational traders.
Compared to retailers, pineapple workers only receive around 4% of the value along the supply chain. They also work in particularly poor conditions, working long hours and receiving poverty wages. Workers also face union repression, gender discrimination and health issues caused by working with toxic chemicals. For example, a recent report, Sweet Fruit, Bitter Truth published by Oxfam Germany found that workers on pineapple plantations are frequently being exposed to dangerous levels of pesticide, and in several areas, water supplies are constantly being contaminated with chemicals. Many of the chemicals used are not licensed for use in the EU because they are considered to be too dangerous to use.
Like any large scale production, the pineapple industry is also responsible for significant environmental damage in producer countries. However, some examples of better social and environmental practices can be seen within the industry, particularly in the case of small Fairtrade and Organic cetified producers in the northern region of Costa Rica. On the other hand, these small producers represent a minority in an industry that is dominated by large-scale, conventional production controlled by a handful of powerful fruit companies.
Approximately 70% of workers in the Costa Rican pineapple industry are Nicaraguan migrants. These migrant workers are the secret to Costa Rica’s pineapple success. They provide a cheaper and more flexible workforce. Many have no official papers or visas, which leaves them particularly vulnerable to the power of their employers, who can sack and deport them at any sign of trouble, for example, if they complain about working conditions or join a trade union.
Around 50% of workers on Costa Rican pineapple plantations are hired through subcontractors who provide a flexible, low paid and non-unionised workforce. They also allow the producing companies to avoid direct responsibility for ensuring adequate working conditions in line with national and international labour laws.
In Costa Rica, the typical wage for pineapple workers is above the national average at €73 per week. However, they are expected to work at least 80 hours per week to earn this ‘privilege’. Many pineapple workers earn around half of what they deem to be a ‘living wage’.
Unemployment amongst women in Costa Rica is around 11.2%, and pineapple companies increasingly prefer to employ men due to the ‘high costs’ associated with employing women, such as maternity pay. For those women that have secured work, the conditions can be very difficult, such as discrimination and, in some cases, sexual harassment. A report by Banana Link looking at the pineapple industry in Costa Rica found that three women working on one PINDECO (a Del Monte subsidiary) plantation alleged severe cases of sexual discrimination and harassment from male plantation managers. Women have also reported being sacked for becoming pregnant. The long working hours are particularly challenging for women who are left with no spare time to care for the family and household.
The level of union organisation is extremely low (about 2%) in the Costa Rican pineapple industry. Union members can face discrimination, persecution and sometimes violence. Anti-union tactics include:
Pineapple production is characterised by large-scale, high-input and monoculture plantations dependent on regular and intense use of a number of toxic agrochemicals. In Costa Rica, pineapples are harvested twice a year, and more than 50 different chemical substances and 30-38kg of chemicals are used per year on one hectare under cultivation. Some of the chemicals like Paraquat are not licensed for use in the EU and are classified by the US as likely to be carcinogenic. According to the law, people working with pesticides are only allowed to work for 6 hours a day, but workers are often engaging in longer hours.
Moreover, the poor environmental practice of both national and international producers is leading to environmental problems of contamination of local aquifers and groundwater, soil erosion, sedimentation and deforestation. Many local communities have also had their natural sources of drinking water contaminated, for example in the communities of El Cairo, La Francia and Luisiana in the Southern Atlantic zone of Costa Rica where over 6,000 people have to rely on government tanks to deliver drinking water supplies to the affected region. Health impacts such as skin diseases, respiratory problems, gastric illnesses and birth defects have also been reported in local communities.
Despite national and international campaigns to halt the damaging expansion of pineapple production and hold companies responsible for their actions, environmental regulations continue to be violated; the pineapple companies’ economic and political power secures their impunity.
The Philippine pineapple industry is largely operated by two companies – Dole Philippines (Dolefil) and Del Monte Philippines Inc.
(DMPI) – who grow 80% of its pineapples. Their CSR reports give the impression that they take really good care of their workers. They pay them far above the minimum wage, as well as providing them with significant benefits, such as housing, transport and education. That, of course, is wonderful. However, there are approximately 24,000 workers not included in these reports (comprising an estimated 85% of their total workforce) who also work for these companies.
This research was commissioned by Consumers International as part of an EC funded project to raise awareness amongst European consumers of the impact that supermarket supply chain policies can have on producers, workers and communities in developing countries; and to help bring about positive change.
New research just published by the Dutch Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations (SOMO) reveals a pattern of recurring labour right violations on farms certified by almost all the well-known sustainability certification initiatives, such as Fairtrade and Rainforest Alliance.
For their report – Looking good on paper: Review of recent research on the impact of sustainability certication on working conditions on large farms – SOMO reviewed published evidence about the effectiveness of sustainability certification initiatives on labour conditions at large-scale farms in low- and middle-income countries from 2014-2017.
Since the 1960’s, pineapple production has quadrupled and export has tripled worldwide. While profits for some have tremendously expanded under such development, this report demonstrates how pineapple workers, their families and communities, and the environment in the largest pineapple producing nations have not enjoyed the benefits of such growth.
ILRF’s partner labor advocacy NGOs in Costa Rica, ASEPROLA, and in the Philippines, EILER, have found abundant evidence that labor rights abuses, inhumane working conditions, and environmental degradation have plagued the industry around the world. These groups conducted fi eld research on pineapple plantations and processing facilities.
