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Chiquita Brands

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Corporation

The Resume

    (1899- )
    Formed as the United Fruit Company by the merger of the Boston Fruit Company and the Tropical Trading and Transport Company
    Merged with AMK to form United Brands (1970)
    Purchased by American Financial Group and renamed Chiquita Brands International (1984)
    As of 2023, 50% owned by Brazilian produce company Cutrale and 50% by Indian conglomerate the J. Safra Group
    Introduced Miss Chiquita and 'The Chiquita Banana Song' (1944)
    Registered Chiquita as a trademark (1947)

Why Chiquita Brands might be annoying:

    After forming as United Fruit, it purchased controlling interest in 14 competitors, resulting in control of 80% of the banana import business in the US.
    Its domination of the economy and government of several Central American countries inspired the phrase 'banana republic.'
    After the government of Guatemala under President Jacobo Arbenz appropriated United Fruit's unused land and redistributed it to peasants, the company launched a public relations campaign to paint the government as Communist, culminating in a CIA-backed coup that installed a pro-business military dictatorship (1954).
    The US Securities and Exchange Committee exposed a $2.5 million bribe offered by United Brands to the President of Honduras to reduce export duties (1975).
    During the 1990s 'Banana Wars,' it illegally seized and destroyed shipments belonging to rival company Fyffes.
    It admitted to paying $1.7 million to the United Defense Forces of Colombia -- a group designated as a terrorist organization by the US government -- to protect its interests in the area, silence union organizers, and intimidate farmers into selling only to Chiquita (2007).

Why Chiquita Brands might not be annoying:

    It was the first company to use refrigeration in open sea transport.
    It was an official sponsor of the Winter Olympics in Lake Placid (1980).
    It received Rainforest Alliance certification for environmentally friendly practices at 100% of its farms (2001).
    It joined the Ethical Trading Initiative and was rated a top 'green stock' by Progressive Investor (2002).
    It earned a 'Corporate Citizen of the Americas' award after its Honduran farms were certified 100% compliant with SA800 labor standards (2004).

Credit: C. Fishel


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Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 18 Votes: 44.44% Annoying