U.S. banana producer Chiquita Brands International and Ireland's Fyffes have agreed to merge and create the world's largest banana company.

The combined company, to be known as ChiquitaFyffes, is set to displace privately-held Dole from the No. 1 spot.

The United Nations reports that Chiquita once had a clear lead on banana sales, with more than a third of the global market in the 1960s. But by the end of the 1990s, Dole had caught it in global market share.

According to BananaLink, a public interest group, Dole today has about a 26% market share; Chiquita has 22%; Fresh Del Monte Produce has 15% and Fyffes has 7%. That means the top three companies will have 70% of the global market if the deal is allowed to go through.

Read - Merger to make Chiquita world's biggest banana company