Contingencies - Additional Information (Detail)	12 Months Ended			1 Months Ended									12 Months Ended			12 Months Ended
	Dec. 29, 2012 USD ($) LegalMatter	Dec. 29, 2012 EUR (€)	Dec. 29, 2012 Employee Severance USD ($)	Jan. 12, 2009 NICARAGUA USD ($) LegalMatter	Nov. 14, 2007 NICARAGUA USD ($) LegalMatter	Aug. 20, 2005 NICARAGUA USD ($) LegalMatter	Mar. 17, 2005 NICARAGUA USD ($) LegalMatter	Jun. 15, 2004 NICARAGUA USD ($) LegalMatter	Jun. 14, 2004 NICARAGUA USD ($) LegalMatter	May 25, 2004 NICARAGUA USD ($) LegalMatter	Feb. 25, 2004 NICARAGUA USD ($) LegalMatter	Dec. 11, 2002 NICARAGUA USD ($) LegalMatter	Dec. 29, 2012 NICARAGUA USD ($) LegalMatter	Dec. 29, 2012 DBCP Cases USD ($)	Dec. 29, 2012 Segment, Discontinued Operations USD ($)	Dec. 29, 2012 Active NICARAGUA LegalMatter	Dec. 29, 2012 Current NICARAGUA LegalMatter
Loss Contingencies [Line Items]
Guarantees related to amounts advanced under third party bank agreements	$ 6,500,000
Total Letter of Credit, bank guarantee and bonds outstanding	195,000,000														12,800,000
Guarantees related to subsidiaries' obligation	133,200,000														24,800,000
Restructuring Charges			24,400,000
Number of lawsuits in various stages of proceedings	194	194
Number of labor cases pending	77	77
Lawsuits not included under tentative settlement description													Of the 194 lawsuits, 16 are currently pending in various jurisdictions in the United States.
Number of cases dismissed													1
Claimed Damages in DBCP cases total														36,000,000,000
Percentage of Claimed Damage In Nicaragua													85.00%
Number of claims filed													163			13
Number of cases in which attorney general formally opined are unconstitutional													3				1
Number of cases active				8	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	9	25
Number of claimants				417	192	62	36	85	72	20	58	465
Claim settlement				357,700,000	38,400,000	46,400,000	27,700,000	64,800,000	56,500,000	15,700,000	82,900,000	489,400,000
Cases resulted in judgment description													Twenty-five cases have resulted in judgments in Nicaragua: $489.4 million (nine cases consolidated with 465 claimants) on December 11, 2002; $82.9 million (one case with 58 claimants) on February 25, 2004; $15.7 million (one case with 20 claimants) on May 25, 2004; $4 million (one case with four claimants) on May 25, 2004; $56.5 million (one case with 72 claimants) on June 14, 2004; $64.8 million (one case with 85 claimants) on June 15, 2004; $27.7 million (one case with 36 claimants) on March 17, 2005; $46.4 million (one case with 62 claimants) on August 20, 2005; $38.4 million (one case with 192 claimants) on November 14, 2007; and $357.7 million (eight cases with 417 claimants) on January 12, 2009, which Dole learned of unofficially. Except for the latest one, Dole has appealed all judgments. Dole will appeal the $357.7 million judgment once it has been served.
Amount of judgment in which company will file appeal													357,700,000
Fines imposed under antitrust laws		45,600,000
Number of offices in which search is carried out	2	2
Initial provisional payment towards fine amount	10,000,000	7,600,000
Annual bank guarantee renewal interest rate	6.15%	6.15%
Amount of tax assessment received relating to disposition of interest	$ 137,000,000
Period for which land owned and used for oil storage facility	40 years	40 years