Biodiversity-friendly production of bananas and pineapples

We preserve biodiversity in the largest banana and pineapple export regions. To this end, we promote biological plant protection and restore damaged ecosystems. Implementing biodiversity criteria when growing fruit protects nature without jeopardizing this important source of income.

Costa Rica is the world’s leading exporter of bananas and pineapples: In 2023, for example, Costa Rica exported around USD 1.51 billion in bananas and more than 1.5 million tons of pineapples worldwide in 2025. The Dominican Republic is also one of the relevant exporters of bananas and pineapples. Germany was one of the most important importers in Europe in 2023/2024. However, agricultural use, especially cultivation in monocultures, contributes significantly to the loss of ecosystems and habitats and thus to the decline in wildlife populations.

In order to preserve biodiversity without jeopardizing one of Costa Rica’s and the Dominican Republic’s most important sources of income, we are committed to protecting biodiversity along the value chain, thus combining efficient agriculture and nature conservation. To this end, we are implementing measures to spread the use of organic pesticides and are increasingly focusing on the financing of nature conservation measures by companies.

Project area

Goals

Bananas and pineapples are grown in a biodiversity-friendly way, primarily through organic plant protection.

Innovative financing mechanisms (such as biodiversity credits or insetting models) help to restore ecosystems.

Companies in the food industry pay attention to biodiversity protection when sourcing bananas and pineapples and make a financial contribution to the restoration of ecosystems.