supply chain

CHIQUITA HOLDINGS LIMITED

Transparency in the Supply Chain and Modern Slavery

2023 Statement of Actions

Introduction

This statement reiterates our commitment to compliance with section 54(2) of the UK Modern Slavery Act 2015 (“UK-MSA”) and the California Transparency in Supply Chains Act of 2010 (“CA-TISCA). We have long-established systems that demonstrate compliance with the California Transparency in Supply Chains Act Statement and the UK Modern Slavery Act to ensure that modern slavery and human trafficking do not
exist in our own operations and supply chain.

The CHL Group is a privately-owned, family business, which is a leading international marketer and distributor of (i) bananas and pineapples sold worldwide in over 70 countries under the Chiquita® and other brand names (“Chiquita”) and (ii) packaged salads sold primarily in the United States under the Fresh Express® and other brand names (“Fresh Express”).

Our Commitment

The CHL Group fully supports the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Labour Organization Core Conventions, and the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. We are forward-looking in opportunities to reduce inequality in our commitment to social justice and human rights.

Supply Chain

Chiquita and Fresh Express pride themselves in having an extensive production footprint in the US and/or LATAM for distribution to US and European markets. Considering the diversity in the Chiquita and Fresh Express supply chains, the implementation of policies varies depending on the business activities’ legal and regulatory environments. However, to comply with the Modern Slavery Statement, it will be regarded as a single entity.

Policies

CHL Group has established policies and procedures in conformance with international human rights standards on slavery and human trafficking that are validated through audits by 3rd party organizations. The CHL Group places a strong emphasis on basic human rights which is reflected from our policies to organizational involvement with social certification programs.

Due Diligence

On an annual basis, we perform a mapping of our supply chain to assess particular geographical risk areas. Once identified, Chiquita and Fresh Express leverage supplier agreements that include provisions requiring our partners to maintain human rights principles of the International Labour Organization (“ILO”) Conventions. These contractual arrangements provide the CHL group with the ability to conduct
unannounced audits to validate compliance with prohibited human trafficking and slavery.

The CHL group promotes an environment that fully respects the rights of our employees through freedom of association. In our pursuit of supporting freedom of association we are one of the only multinational companies in the banana industry to have an international framework agreement with the International Union of Food, Agricultural, Hotel, Restaurant, Catering, Tobacco and Allied Workers’ Associations (“IUF”), a global federation of trade unions with members in a variety of industries.

Awareness-Raising Programs

The CHL Group Code of Conduct ( “Code”) requires all employees to conduct themselves ethically and with integrity in all commercial relationships. The Code prohibits modern slavery and human trafficking. Regular audits are conducted to monitor compliance with our Code and local laws.

The CHL Group maintains an employee hotline managed by an independent third-party that is used to communicate suspected violations of any ethical or legal concerns anonymously, including those that deal with modern slavery and human trafficking. Individuals (including employees) who report concerns are protected from retaliation.

The CHL Group conducts corporate compliance training annually for all employees in order to educate them on regulations and company policies surrounding human rights. The training guides employees in
learning the signs of human trafficking and how to report suspected violations.

KPIs

In order to assess the effectiveness of actions we have taken, we rely on key performance indictors , which include the following:

*training period Aug-July

Conclusion

The CHL Group continues to monitor the risk of modern slavery in its own operations and supply chain. We deem our own operations to be very low risk due to our own policies and procedures, the high trade union density rate and multiple certifications of our processes. We judge our supply chain to be low risk due to a relatively small supplier base, the policies and procedures of our growers, a reasonably high level of 3rd party certification and long term relationships with the majority of our supply base, which means we strive to only work with growers we know and trust.

Approval

This statement constitutes the modern slavery and human trafficking statement of Chiquita Holdings Limited and all its applicable subsidiaries and affiliates which fall within the scope of the UK-MSA or CATISCA and was approved by the board of directors on September 26th, 2024.

CHIQUITA HOLDINGS LIMITED
Sascha Knobloch – Director