Bananas, Blood, and the Caribbean Coast: The Costa Rican Story

Picture a lush coastal plain in late‑nineteenth‑century Costa Rica: humid air heavy with the promise of tropical growth, the Atlantic railway forging its way toward the Caribbean beyond civilization’s reach—and there, in that frontier land, an export crop takes root that will reshape not only the ground but the society around it. The story of how the banana came to Costa Rica is, in many ways, the story of the country itself: of land, labour, empire, identity, and the brittle promise of growth.

Beginnings: A Crop Takes Root

In 1878, Costa Rican farmers planted the first commercial banana crop, marking the country as the first in Central America to do so (Go Visit Costa Rica, n.d.). The new export pathways were tied directly to the building of the Atlantic railway connecting San José to Limón, completed by around 1890, enabling bananas from the low‑lying Caribbean coast to be shipped abroad.

“In the late 1800s the Costa Rican government sought to build a railroad… To achieve this … the government awarded Minor Keith a land concession in 1884… This concession laid the groundwork for what would become the United Fruit Company.” (Van Patten & Mendez, 2024)

The banana’s story is intertwined with infrastructure, foreign capital, and land‑concessions: the rails, the forest, the company town.

Growth, Empire, and Plantation Society

By the early 20th century, the export banana industry in Costa Rica was well‑launched. Plantations spread along the Caribbean lowlands (in Limón province and elsewhere), the soil and climate ideal (Find My Costa Rica, 2023). Labour was often recruited from Jamaica and other West Indian islands; as one historian notes:

“In Costa Rica, the banana company transformed the landscape and the population on both coasts … with the arrival of workers from Jamaica … whose descendants remain an important part of that area today.” (Herrscher, 2024)

The major U.S. corporation, United Fruit Company (UFCo), became an overwhelmingly powerful actor. Through land concessions, railway and shipping infrastructure, and company towns, UFCo integrated the banana’s lifecycle from field to freezer ship (Barrett, 2018).

“There was less poverty and better satisfaction of basic needs (housing, sanitation, education, and consumption capacity) in the areas where UFCo operated.” (Barrett, 2018)

Yet this positive picture masks the darker side of corporate power: the UFC exerted near-total control over labour, wages, and land.

The Corporate Leviathan: Brutality and Exploitation

The railway concession to Minor Keith (later part of UFC) laid the infrastructure for the classic banana export mode: land for infrastructure. But the human cost was immense. Workers on the railway and early plantations lived in camps with poor sanitation, low wages, and dangerous conditions; thousands died during railway construction (The Collector, 2023).

In 1934, a major labour strike erupted in the Atlantic banana zone. Workers demanded an eight-hour day, overtime pay, and payment in cash rather than company coupons.

“The strike proved that United Fruit’s power, while formidable, was not absolute.” (Coalición Floresta, 2023)

For the legions of seasonal workers: toxic agrochemicals, long hours, and precarious conditions were daily realities. Company towns controlled housing, trade, and even social life (Mayaparaiso, 2023).

Environmental Costs: Monocultures and Chemicals

Export-oriented banana monocultures exacted a heavy toll on Costa Rica’s Caribbean lowlands. Plantations relied on intensive pesticide use—up to 44 kg per hectare annually (EFD Initiative, 2020). Runoff contaminated rivers, harmed aquatic life, and transformed ecosystems.

“The pesticides used in banana cultivation … are among the most potent and environmentally damaging. … Runoff from banana plantations contaminates rivers and streams, which can lead to dead zones in aquatic ecosystems.” (Costa Rican Times, 2024)

Swamps were drained, forests cleared, and biodiversity diminished. Even crocodilians and other wildlife suffered from contamination (ScienceDaily, 2013). Organic bananas, in contrast, preserve more plant species, maintain soil cover, and reduce chemical input (SLU, 2020).

The Bribri Indigenous People & Alternative Models

The Bribri people, indigenous to Talamanca and adjacent Caribbean lowlands, experienced profound disruptions from large-scale banana plantations (Wikipedia, 2025). Many Bribri men were drawn into plantation labor, often facing exploitative conditions. In response, women in the community founded the STIBRAWPA cooperative to cultivate organic bananas and cocoa, preserving both culture and forest:

“Everything here is organic. Our ancestors never worked with agrochemicals, and I have chosen not to do so either. … I could have produced more, but that would have meant killing other forms of life.” (Bribri grower, Yorkín)

Their approach demonstrates a different model: smaller-scale, diversified, environmentally conscious, culturally rooted.

Labour & Wage Realities

Wages for banana workers in Costa Rica are higher than in many other Latin American countries, but still often fall below a true living wage. According to CORBANA (2024), the average gross salary for a banana worker is ₡ 364,769/month (~US$600–650), exceeding minimum wage but below the estimated living wage in Limón province (₡ 414,981/month).

“The living wage benchmark for a family of four … was established at US$731 per month … many workers receive wages that are 10 % lower than the living wage benchmark.” (Springer, 2021)

The sector employs thousands directly and tens of thousands indirectly, yet labour is still physically demanding, seasonal, and tied to environmental hazards (FAO, 1999).

Costa Rica’s Banana Economy & Identity

By mid-20th century, the banana had become a pillar of Costa Rica’s export economy. While coffee dominated the highlands, bananas dominated the coastal lowlands. At its peak, UFCo was responsible for roughly 42% of Costa Rica’s total exports (Barrett, 2018).

The industry shaped migration, work culture, and even local demography: West Indian communities, seasonal laborers, and Bribri indigenous farmers intersected in a landscape transformed by commerce.

Changing Times & Contemporary Challenges

Today, environmental, social, and economic pressures continue to shape banana production. Conventional plantations face scrutiny over pesticides, deforestation, and labour conditions, while organic and fair-trade models attempt to mitigate some harms. Yet structural pressures remain: global markets demand high volume and low prices, and climate change threatens yields and ecosystem stability.

Reflections

The banana is more than a fruit in Costa Rica. It is a lens into 19th- and 20th-century infrastructure, foreign capital, labour exploitation, environmental transformation, indigenous resilience, and global market pressures. From railway concessions to Bribri agroforests, from United Fruit Company strikes to organic cooperative production, the banana reveals the tangled story of human ambition, corporate power, ecological cost, and cultural perseverance.

“It was in the banana fields where the tropical rainforest and hundreds of archaeological sites were destroyed, mass production and transnational immigration were formed.” (Herrscher, 2024)

Every banana you hold carries this history: of railways, plantations, chemical drift, corporate control, indigenous resistance, and human endurance.

References

Barrett, S. (2018). Evidence from the United Fruit Company in Costa Rica. Retrieved from https://barrett.dyson.cornell.edu/NEUDC/paper_492.pdf

Coalición Floresta. (2023). Forest Revolution: Labor and Land in Costa Rica. Retrieved from https://coalicionfloresta.org/analysis/forest-revolution.html

Costa Rican Times. (2024). Unpeeling the truth: The environmental and health costs of Costa Rica’s banana industry. Retrieved from https://www.costaricantimes.com/unpeeling-the-truth-the-environmental-and-health-costs-of-costa-ricas-banana-industry/77687

EFD Initiative. (2020). Linking Agriculture and Biodiversity in Central America. Retrieved from https://www.efdinitiative.org/sites/default/files/linking20agriculture20and20biodiversity20in20ca202004_0.pdf

Find My Costa Rica. (2023). Banana cultivation: An important industry. Retrieved from https://www.findmycostarica.com/blog/banana-cultivation-an-important-industry-in-costa-rica/

Go Visit Costa Rica. (n.d.). Learn about the banana industry. Retrieved from https://www.govisitcostarica.com/travelInfo/day-trips/banana-industry.asp

Herrscher, R. (2024, April 19). Calufa and Don Quincho: Two visions of the banana republic. ReVista. Retrieved from https://revista.drclas.harvard.edu/calufa-and-don-quincho-two-visions-of-the-banana-republic/

Mayaparaiso. (2023). United Fruit Company: History in Costa Rica. Retrieved from https://www.mayaparaiso.com/united_fruit_company.php

Q Costa Rica. (2024). The hidden cost of Costa Rican bananas. Retrieved from https://qcostarica.com/the-hidden-cost-of-costa-rican-bananas/

Springer, Food Security. (2021). Analysis of banana and cocoa export commodities and living wages in Costa Rica. Retrieved from https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12571-021-01219-y

Stibrawpa Association. (n.d.). Affiliates: STIBRAWPA. Amigos of Costa Rica. Retrieved from https://www.amigosofcostarica.org/affiliates/stibrawpa

The Collector. (2023). Twisted history: United Fruit and the bananas of Costa Rica. Retrieved from https://www.thecollector.com/twisted-history-united-fruit-bananas/

Wikipedia. (2025). Bribri people. Retrieved from https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bribri_Talamanca