The Division and distribution of revenue along the
European Union (EU) banana commodity chains

Dr. Claudius Preville

Paper presented at the FAO Informal Expert Consultation
on EU Banana Trade Policies
© Shaker Publishing B.V. 2002

Rome, Italy
October 28 – 29 2004

Introduction

There exists a fairly extensive literature, which suggests that liberalization of the European Union's banana trade is self-evidently desirable, i.e., the consumer and producer welfare gains from liberalization will considerably outweigh any losses. Yet, such analyses do not take into consideration how the total wealth (revenue and surplus) that is created along the various banana commodity chains into EU member-states is divided and distributed among nations. If trade liberalization is to fulfill the development objectives of developing countries, then it should result in a more equitable division of wealth.