The Mystery of the Banana Poachers

Richard Ha writes:

I got this email today, which was forwarded to me by Diane Ley, interim director of the Department of Research and Development for the County of Hawai‘i.

The email said that for the second time in three weeks, a grocery store in Captain Cook, which ordered locally grown bananas from a distributor, received imported Dole bananas (sticker side down) that were packed in Hamakua Springs boxes.

***

From: ken love
Sent: Tuesday, February 17, 2009 3:06 PM
To: Andrew G. HASHIMOTO; Alice Sherer; Betsy
Cole; Bev White; Dayday; Dean Okimoto; Jonathan Deenik; Bonnie; Elizabeth
Haws Connally; Ellen Mehos; Johnsons; Eric Weinert; Follett, Peter; Joan
Namkoong; Janelle Saneishi; Tane; Karin Stanton; Joan
Lamont; Brian Lievens; Matt Loke; Diane Ley; Diana Duff; Dick Bowen; Kent;
Nancy Pisicchio; Nancy Miller; Nancy Redfeather; Una Greenaway; Doug
Vincent; Virginia Smith; Zee, Francis; Nishijima, Wayne; miles hakoda
Subject: Imported bananas in Hamakua Springs boxes
 
Choice Mart & Imported Bananas
 
For the second time in three weeks, Choice Mart, the grocery store in
Captain Cook ordered locally grown bananas from the wholesaler Cal-Kona.
They received boxes marked Hamakua Springs, Cavendish & Hawaii #1 but what
they received were Dole bananas from Ecuador. Photos are attached.
 
Choice Mart has repeatedly ordered only locally grown bananas. They buy a
significant amount direct from growers but at times have to supplement that
by ordering locally grown from wholesalers.
 
It is unknown how or where the imported bananas were packed into Hamakua
Springs boxes ( With the Dole Ecuador stickers face down) but the issue of
legality must be raised. This obviously deceptive practice must stop. It
reflects poorly on Hamakua Springs as well as Cal-Kona. The store is working
on the side of growers to support local agriculture to the best of their
ability and asked me to relay this information to those who may be in a
position to make sure this practice stops.
 
The store would like inspectors from some agency to look into this and I
concur.
 
Ken

***

Wow, Hamakua Springs' bananas must be popular! Why would anyone go to the trouble of disguising Dole bananas so they look like Hamakua Springs ones?

Of course, it wasn't us. We don't sell to Cal-Kona, and we don't repack other people’s bananas into our boxes. Why would we do that? Waste time, lose money, and besides, it’s bad, bad business. It's not our style.

We are going to be out of bananas altogether soon, but just for a couple of months while we reconfigure our banana farm. We are forced to take drastic action because the wholesaler Hilo Product started competing with us, using lower priced bananas from the Big Island as well as from O‘ahu.

We are planting our banana fields closer to the packing house and will be out of production for a couple months. We'll crank back up when our hydroelectric plant is finished.

In the meantime, while we wait for our new fields to produce, we will ripen and sell Dole bananas. They won't, of course, go into Hamakua Springs boxes.

I am just amazed by this. Imagine - someone is disguising Dole bananas to look like Hamakua Springs' bananas. You know what they say: imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Ha Ha Ha!

I am very impressed that Choice Mart and its customers are so loyal to locally grown products. They are right that someone should look into exactly what took place. This is very serious business.

Comments

[Dick Bowen]

Richard, glad to hear that you are not permanently stopping banana production. Those of us who know you could not imagine that you would have any knowledge or involvement with this Cal Kona misrepresentation issue. I think that the HDOA enquiry will bring out the facts and help ensure that won't be allowed to happen again.

[Ken]

Richard,
Dole bananas will never taste or look as good as yours!

Ken

[Lynn Richardson]

Hi Richard,
Looking at the photo of the Dole Bananas one can see that someone switched covers. They were not repacked. If there were multiple cartons, then I would suspect some sort of deception. If it was one or two boxes, it could be the result of rain softening the original cover. It might just be a sloppy employee at some produce distributor.
Bananas are always packed with the stickers facing downward.
I have been selling Cavendish bananas to Hilo Products for nearly one year and have always received a price as high or higher than any other wholesaler has paid me. Since I began selling to Hilo Products, I have been able to make a decent margin for the first time in over 30 years of banana farming.
Hilo Products adds a ripening/delivery margin that is comparable to the major Honolulu distributors.
The everyday retail price at one major grocery store in Hilo has gone from $1.89/Lb. to $1.29/Lb. Since I began supplying Hilo Products with Cavendish bananas.
I hope this helps to clarify some things.
Thanks, Richard.
Lynn Richardson

[richard]

Howzit Lynn:
I'm glad you're doing so well. You deserve it. You're one of the best banana growers in the state!!
The way you describe replacing covers-- makes a lot of sense.
Hi to Marilynn.
Aloha

[damon]

I seem to remember a post you made a long time ago about how you started your banana business by saving old boxes from another company and recycling them for your bananas.

I may be wrong... but I think I remember reading that here. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

In some businesses they say there is no such thing as Bad "FREE Advertising".

[Richard]

Damon, you have a memory like an elephant. It was in the 70's. I did collect Chiquita boxes because no more money. Not so much because I was trying to imitate Chiquita bananas. Is that a distinction with no difference? The buyers always knew they were my bananas. Anyway, that’s my story and I’m sticking to it!!

[Lynn Richardson]

I think we all used recycled (sounds better than used) boxes in the early days. There were 5,000 boxes going into the landfills every week and we just wanted to do our part.
When I got into banana farming in the late 70s, Richard was already an experienced grower. As more small growers came on board, we all developed a collaborative system of sharing knowledge. This was done mostly through the Big Island Banana Growers Association. (Mahalos to Howard)
Richard's crew figured out how to build the trailers They were also the first to use the tractor mounted air blast sprayers.
Valery Banana Co. (me) figured out the plucking and some of the pruning tricks. We all worked out the fertilizer formulas that are in use today.
And often, just when we thought we had invented something new, we would read about it in one of R.H.Stover's books.
He was "Da man".

[damon]

I always heard an elephants brain was the size of a pea. ;)

I wasn't coming down on you, I just think its a bit of hilarious Karma.

It could just be a harmless case of the soggy box as mentioned earlier.

Which then goes to show that Hamakua Boxes have "Staying Power".

Would be even funnier if Viagra was shipped in them.

[Richard]

Eh Damon:
I was complimenting your intelligence. Talking about elephants in the room. I was just having fun at Dole's expense. We all know they do a very good job at what they do.
Aloha