An Economic Assessment of Banana Genetic Improvement and ...

34 CHAPTER 3
would only be able to benefit from banana
exports as contract growers for well-financed
plantations with modern packing
facilities, implying a fundamental change in
the mode of production.
Most importantly, viable market opportunities
are restricted to supplying niche
markets for organic apple bananas and ethnic
consumers of cooking bananas in Europe,
the United States, and Asia. This situation
reflects the fact that the country does
not produce the Cavendish banana that is
internationally traded, but a unique type of
banana that is only consumed within the
region (or by emigrants). Other developing
countries, as well as Uganda, still face insurmountable
hurdles to penetrate the biggest
banana market: the market for Cavendish
bananas. Uganda’s low comparative
advantage stems from prohibitive freight
costs due to being landlocked, and poor
quality compared to more efficient and
larger suppliers in Latin America and the
Caribbean.
Unlike Uganda and Rwanda, which export
bananas (albeit in minor quantities) to
European countries by air, Tanzania exports
bananas only by road to neighboring countries,
including Kenya, Uganda, Zambia,
Malawi, Rwanda, Burundi, and Botswana.
To date, there are no banana traders (individual,
associations, or companies) operating
at a large international scale in the
country. In 2002, the estimated annual exports
of cooking and dessert bananas were
3,230 tons sold in Kenya; 780 tons sold in
Malawi, Zambia, and Botswana; and 470
tons sold in Burundi and Rwanda. Importation
of bananas is uncommon, occurring
primarily in communities scattered along
the national borders. For export markets to
be developed in Tanzania, substantial investment
would be required to enhance
postharvesting technologies, facilitate access
to market information and infrastructure,
and form marketing associations. As in
Uganda, commercial farmers would need to
orient their choice of planting materials toward
the provision of attributes demanded
by consumers in other countries, which are
likely to differ substantially from those preferred
locally. Even then, the world market
is dominated by the Cavendish banana, and
market entry would not be easy.
Conclusion
The crucial role of bananas in the national
and local economies of Uganda and Tanzania,
as sources of both food and cash, cannot
be overemphasized. The East African
highlands are also an important center of
diversity for a unique type of banana. Banana
diversity is reflected in multiple local
uses. To some extent, the different genomic
structure of cultivars grown by farmers
confers differential genetic resistance to a
number of biotic stresses. Nevertheless, biotic
pressures have had a pronounced impact
on yield levels and the geographical
distribution of production, especially during
the past three decades. Relieving these
constraints through a combination of breeding
and crop management strategies has
therefore become a national priority (see
Chapter 4). Banana production is also labor
intensive, so that the development of local
labor markets has implications for productivity
(see Chapter 8). In addition to the
market access constraints faced by many
smallholder farmers in Africa, the properties
of bananas, such as their bulkiness and
perishability, pose challenges for the marketing
system. Processing technologies to
increase shelf life could facilitate product
differentiation and marketing, and improved
road infrastructure will augment local trade,
generating rural income. International trade
is, so far, negligible. The uniqueness of the
East African highlands cooking banana has
implications for international trade. First,
there is limited consumer demand outside
of the region for this type of banana. Second,
as long as the crop is a preferred food
staple, there is need for regional selfsufficiency.