In Honduras, Dole owns two pineapple plantations and six banana farms. The Company also produces and sources conventional and organic bananas.

Products and Areas of Production

Dole has approximately 2,740 hectares planted with pineapples and 4,400 hectares planted with bananas. Dole owns two pineapple plantations and six banana farms. In Honduras, the Company employs approximately 9,500 people.

Independent Growers

Dole sources bananas from approximately 10 independent growers.

Independent growers are required to meet both the legal requirements and the Company’s Environmental Management System procedures. The Company provides them with technical assistance in the area of environmental protection.

Environmental Practices

The environmental management system of Dole’s Honduran subsidiary has been ISO 14001 certified since June 1999.

The Company’s environmental achievements in Honduras include:

• Decrease in water use by approximately 190,000 liters per day through the construction of 23 water tanks at the packing plants. The water is monitored and recycled for three to five days, which represents a total reduction of water use by 80% for these packing plants. The water is then filtered and chlorinated during processing to ensure proper quality.
• 40% reduction in nematicide and herbicide use, with application cycles reduced from as many as ten per year to as low as three in selected areas.
• Reduction in the use of fertilizers (nitrogen and potassium).
• 50% reduction on the use of post-harvest fungicides in 14 banana packing plants by using an improved application method.

Labor Conditions

Training

For pineapple production, training is provided in areas such as ISO 14001, ISO 9001, worker safety, specific job skills and emergency response. There are six full-time trainers, who provide workers with approximately 3,200 training sessions per year.

For banana production, every operational area has specific training requirements established for each Dole worker. Instructors service the needs identified by the various departments. More than 4,000 employees are trained annually. Company assistance programs also include training of its independent growers’ employees in key areas such as safe use of crop protection products and environmental awareness.

The farm management works with union representatives as well as with the safety and hygiene committees to ensure safe work practices. There were 19,750 training sessions in 2004 totaling over 45,000 man-hours.

Other training programs include environmental education, waste management, water use, forest management, and the proper usage and handling of pesticides.

Social Benefits

Dole employees have social benefits including health exams and housing subsidies for low-income employees. Dole Honduras provides housing, schools and health services including hospitals and clinics.

Community Programs

Medical Programs

Community programs include financial support for a local medical center, which treats an estimated 10,000 patients each year.

Education Programs

In Honduras, Dole provides financial and administrative assistance to the Mazapan School, a bilingual school serving grades 1-12. In addition to running two private schools for the children of its banana farms employees, the Company provides financial aid to public schools in the farm areas and offers scholarships for the children of indigent families.

Housing Programs

There are 757 Company-owned homes currently inhabited by workers in the Aguan Valley (principal area of its production). There is also a housing program in place to increase employee-owned homes (50% financed by the Company and 50% by the employee), comprising a total of 257 homes to date.

Other Programs

Dole supports the community at large with road and drainage maintenance, river dikes, garbage collection, water supply, security and land donation.

Main Certifications

• ISO 9001
  • Maya Division (Honduras & Guatemala) for the dispatch, reception and storage of refrigerated containers loaded with bananas and pineapples
  • Agropor for the reception, processing, classification, packing, cooling and dispatch of containerized export pineapples
  • Energa for the box manufacturing process, plastic bag, twine and self-adhesive procedures
• ISO 14001
  • Standard Fruit (Honduras & Guatemala) for the production, harvesting and packing of bananas (including programs for independent producers)
  • Agropor for the production and processing of pineapples

Awards

• In 2004, Dole’s Maya Division was recognized by the International Labor Organization (ILO) for being the business with the best ‘Good Labor Practices’ in Honduras
• In 2003, Standard Fruit de Honduras received the Certificate of Merit from the ILO at the ILO’s regional conference for Good Labor Practices for the promotion of decent work. Standard Fruit was heralded as a ‘leader in the worker safety’ and for its ISO 14001 certification.