Who controls Guatemala's export banana sector and how does an investor enter?

Guatemala is the world's third-largest banana exporter and supplies ~40% of the bananas entering North America (Banana Link). The south coast (Escuintla, Suchitepéquez, Retalhuleu, San Marcos) dominates and Izabal contributes ~20%; more than 30,000 direct jobs (Banana Link) and ~150,000 indirect ones (PortalFrutícola). The multinationals are already integrated: Del Monte through Bandegua (~4,000 ha in 2019) and Chiquita through Cobigua (~2,600 ha in 2017), plus local growers under contract to Del Monte, figures confirmed in FruiTrop. Entry is through a supply contract or the purchase of an independent grower on the south coast.