Banana growers appeal for access to EU market
Banana growers and exporters in Africa, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries have appealed to the European Union (EU) to ensure that those countries have unfettered access to the EU banana market per an earlier commitment by the EU.
In a communiqué issued at the end of a three-day conference in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire, the banana growers said without significant commitments from the EU, ACP countries would be forced out of the EU market by the big banana exporting countries from Latin America.
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They said to be forced out of the EU market, which happened to be the largest importer of banana, would cause banana plantations to fold up and lead to more than 150,000 job losses.
They, therefore, recommended to the EU to implement measures such as the maintenance of custom tariffs on banana exported into the EU market from South and Central American countries.
They also called on the EU to implement new support programmes that would lead to more investments in banana production in ACP countries and further develop local production capacities.
Dubbed “The Call of Abidjan” conference, the event was attended by more than 100 delegates from Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Cameroun, Dominican Republic, Belize and the EU.
It was organised by the Association of African Producers of Bananas and other Fruits (AFRUIBANA) in partnership with the umbrella body of banana growers in the Caribbean, known as AFROBANANO.
EU’s importance
At least, 33 per cent of the world’s $14 billion banana export is sent to the EU, making it the biggest importer of banana in the world.
The banana export trade is dominated by Latin American countries such as Ecuador and Costa Rica.
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Out of the 20 million tonnes of banana exported annually, Ecuador alone accounts for seven million; controlling more than 33 per cent of the market, while ACP countries control only five per cent.
Trade wars
In order to ensure that banana producers in ACP countries were not muscled from the market by the dominant Latin American producers, the EU in 1993 imposed tariffs on banana from Latin American countries, while those from ACP countries were made tariff-free.
The EU’s preferential treatment was to allow the relatively small producers from ACP countries to compete with the big Latin American banana producers
However, the move angered Latin American countries and the United States of America (USA), the country of origin of the multinational companies controlling the banana plantations in Latin America.
Ecuador and the USA complained to the World Trade Organisations (WTO) that the EU’s action was an unfair trade practice. The WTO ruled against the EU, making the union to agree to progressively reduce the tariffs on the bananas from Latin America.
Currently, the EU has reduced the tariff from €200 per tonne to €75 per tonne, a move that will ensure more access to the EU market for Latin American producers, but this, critics say, has led to a decline of the ACP’s market share.
“ACP producers are so small to the extent that Latin American countries can fill the gap if we are forced to stop exporting to the EU. We need measures such as the tariff to protect our small market share,” Mr George Kporye, the Vice President of the Banana Producers Association of Ghana, said.
Protect us
At the conference, the President of AFRUIBANA, Mr Joseph Owona Kono, said the EU must protect ACP countries to ensure some fairness in the banana export business.
The EU Ambassador to Cote d’Ivoire, Mr Jobst Von Kirchmann, said the EU would continue to support banana producers for ACP countries, and called on the governments of such countries to make the banana sector a priority.