International standard certifications and export performance of top four Colombian banana exporters

International standard certifications are becoming increasingly important in the international trade of goods and services, especially in the agribusiness industry. In the case of the fruit industry, there seems to be a strong influence and companies have prominently started the implementation of such standards related mostly to social welfare, environmental welfare, and processes of food safety and quality. The Colombian banana industry has focused on the international market since its origins, first by multinationals that entered the Colombian market and later on through international trading companies constituted entirely with Colombian resources. When discussing the internationalization of these companies, standard certification is a necessity. Based on a qualitative case study, this article presents an exploratory study to analyze the existing relationship between international standard certifications and the export performance of the top four banana exporters in the country. The number of export markets and the total volume of exports have been selected as the key variables for the analysis. As a result, it was found that international standard certifications for banana companies have led to market concentration instead of diversification, and that there is a positive relation between exports volume and the acquisition of certifications. However, further research and statistical analysis are highly recommended.