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With that "kingpin" designation banks can't afford to do business with Zabaneh or Maya King. No bank means no overdraft facility and in a drought that means Maya King can't find the over two hundred thousand dollars it needs to pay its 1200 employees. And so, the farm managers are considering laying off 600 or more workers. Our news team traveled to South Stann Creek to find out for ourselves what's happening in this important company. Daniel Ortiz reports:

Daniel Ortiz reporting
Mayan King Banana Farm is one of the biggest banana operations in the south, employing an average of 1,200 workers who are kept on staff. It is a major contributor to the economy via the banana industry.

John Zabaneh - Spokesperson, Mayan King Banana Farm
"It is one of the larger farms. I don't know what in sequence; 1st, 2nd or 3rd. But it's right in there. Totally living here on the compound we probably have over 2,000 people dependent directly on the employment provided by Mayan King, the management Meridian and the labor force varies according to the productivity. At different times of the year we have, more. Different times of the year, less. But it always, it's never below 600-1200. Sometimes maybe 1300."

But, in the same way that this year's drought has devastated the Corn farmers in Orange Walk south, the banana growers in the same difficult financial position.

John Zabaneh
"Usually the drought period is 2-3 to maximum 4 months of the year. We did have a drought for that period but it got extended up to just recently and it was just at the wrong time. In the past we could have managed normally, probably just breaking even. But that was because the drought was done at the second half of the year. It's usually raining already. So we don't have to irrigate. Irrigation is probably the highest cost. This year has been substantially different. The drought continued even worse than the normal drought period. High temperatures and because the prices are lower, a lot of us could not afford to irrigate properly and even irrigation does not make up for rains. I would say it's like a hurricane hitting the industry. For that level, we are not even making 50% of the payroll."

So, how exactly has the lack of rains affected the banana production? Well, according to Zabaneh, Mayan King's bananas have not been maturing properly due to the lack of water. There are tonnes of rejected bananas, that normally should have been export, dump truck loads, that they've had to give away.

John Zabaneh
"The quality - the hand start to curl up. The size don't grow to the minimum size that they want to take. Fyffes demanded a bigger banana than usual. It used to be 6 and I think now they want it at 7 and a half. Now we could not even make the 6, much less the 7 and a half. So it just goes to show you everything just start snowballing. There is not enough tractors, there is not enough trucks to efficiently discard the reject bananas, take them away. There is not enough."

"For the day we are throwing away - if you were to come tomorrow we take you to a packing shed for you to see the excessive quantity of bananas that is being thrown away. Well I don't throw it away. I remove it from the sheds and I take it to the villages, to the towns and dumped it out in a football field or an open space and people go and get it and take it home to eat. That's what we do with it."

Daniel Ortiz
"Those are bananas you would ordinarily been selling right?"

John Zabaneh
"Yes. Absolutely. We here should have been exporting between 25,000-27,000 boxes per week. We are down to 12,000. That's the difference and that's the magnitude of the problems. It's not tractors. Normally it's with tractors and small little trailers that we throw away the rejects, cuts and so. Now it's dump trucks. We are using dump trucks and they are not enough."

Jose Gonzalez - General Manager, Mayan King Banana Farm
"Bananas is an extremely unforgiving mistress, that if you drop your guard, if you just a couple of weeks that you do not on the game, it is extremely difficult to rebound and continue to have a good production."

But in this case, the managers say that they and the employees have done their very best to make sure that crops of bananas successfully grew and matured. There was nothing they could do to mitigate the damage of the drought, and so now they are considering laying off hundreds of workers.

John Zabaneh
"We are forced, the only next thing we could do is to reduce the labor force to meet our income and it's going to be substantial. It's at least 50%. We have to cut down our cost by at least 50%."

Jose Gonzalez
"Shrinking the workforce is a measure that we are also considering. It's on the table. But we want to leave that for the last resort, because obviously we don't want to affect individuals and as Mr. John has said, that some individuals are aware that that might be a measure and so we love to see that the comrade of the workers says look I am not sure if it's me you will cut, but even its not me, I prefer to take a reduction so that we don't lose people. And that beautiful. Usually those things are reserved. But we love to see that and obviously it touches our heart and we have to take that heavily into consideration."

Daniel Ortiz
"Has that gone over with the employees? Obviously they are losing revenue, they are losing a source of income."

John Zabaneh
"I have half the money to pay them and we are seeking the other half from family (I am still working on that) loans and going around with the hat out. That's what I am doing right now."