Banana growers from six countries sign an agreement to demand a fair price for fruit in European and US markets

Banana producers and exporters from Ecuador, Colombia, Guatemala, Honduras, the Dominican Republic and Costa Rica met in Guayaquil to discuss the position of European and American supermarkets not to give in to a fair payment for the box of fruit. After the meeting, the banana growers signed the Great Regional Agreement for Shared Responsibility.

The meeting took place within the framework of the XVIII International Banana Convention 2021. The document indicates that in the United States and Europe “they ignore the reality of international markets and take advantage of their dominant position in negotiations with small and medium-sized producers. . ”.

The Agreement details that currently agricultural production bears the sum of various costs, among which are human resources, phytosanitary control, certification, packaging, transportation and distribution. “It is well known the growing rise in costs at the international level, which poses a serious threat to food producers; the cost of raw materials in the global market has increased by 22% and maritime transport has grown by 328%, added to inflation and problems in the global supply chain … ”.

Banana producers say they were tricked into signing an agreement and ask to meet with Guillermo Lasso to define the price of a box of bananas for 2022

Richard Salazar, director of the Banana Marketing and Export Association in Ecuador (Acorbanec), maintains that, despite discussions and conversations with customers abroad, especially in Europe and the United States, they ignore orders to consider a better payment for the fruit. In the case of Ecuadorian fruit, for example, the box of bananas on the European continent in 2021 remains at $ 13.20; 6.7% less than in 2019, when the price was $ 14.15.

To these markets, Salazar says, they have transmitted the impact on the sustainability of banana production in Latin America due to the increase in costs. “We have asked for that reciprocity, that shared responsibility, but unfortunately they have ignored these realities and these requests. That is why yesterday (Wednesday) the different unions of Latin American banana producers and exporters signed the Great Regional Agreement … ”.

It is a clear message to supermarkets to pay the right price for fruit. “To be able to export a quality banana, complying with all the international standards that require investment; but we need the payment of the fair price of the fruit, and that is the shared responsibility that we transmit not only to the supermarkets, but also to the final consumer, who is the one who must assume these new prices given the realities presented … “.

In the Agreement for Shared Responsibility, banana producers and exporters warn that they need the commitment of all those involved to guarantee the viability of the industry. “It resides in the principle of shared responsibility, that all the actors involved take on their role in the value chain, allowing the distribution of costs in an equitable way among all the actors … ”.

The XVIII International Banana Convention 2021 ends this Friday, October 29. José Antonio Hidalgo, executive director of the Association of Banana Exporters of Ecuador (AEBE, organizer of the event), indicated that several forums have been developed with experts, one of which dealt with the look towards the Asian market and the Philippine firm of a commercial agreement where it reduces its tariff to 0% in five years.

“That is going to be a total loss for us in the market in South Korea, that puts us on alert; We applaud the progress (in Ecuador) of the trade agreement with China, but all of Asia is necessary … ”, said Hidalgo, who added that another of the issues they addressed was the threat of Fusarium Raza 4 and the strategies to face this problem. (I)