Aldi's banana price rises while it requires more social and environmental certificates

For some twenty years, German discount retailer Aldi, present in thirty countries worldwide, has more or less set the benchmark price for fresh bananas in the European market. On 1 December, an agreement on the contract price for 2022 was finally reached after particularly protracted and controversial negotiations with suppliers. Next year’s contract prices would have risen significantly, by 9 euro cents per kilo compared to 2021.

However, according to Banana Link International Coordinator Alistair Smith, the price of 2021 was the lowest ever. That is why, in the second half of the year, most of the leading Latin American, Caribbean and African producers’ and exporters’ organizations denounced the hypocrisy of a major buyer that wants more and more social and environmental standards to be met whilst paying less and less in its annual negotiations.