Banana associations from Latin America call on supermarkets to make real commitments

(Agraria.pe) The main associations of banana producers and exporters from Ecuador, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Peru, and the Dominican Republic have issued a joint statement expressing their concern over the current supply policies of European supermarkets, which they accuse of ignoring the central challenges of the industry. According to the associations, the purchase prices set by the retail chains do not recognize the sustainability efforts of the producers and are influenced by commercial strategies that use bananas as a "hook" or loss leader product to attract consumers, to the detriment of the farmers' profitability. They also question the proliferation of projects financed by international cooperation agencies and NGOs, which, under the pretext of verifying decent wages, end up diverting attention from the core issue: guaranteeing fair prices that allow the activity to be sustained and improve the living conditions of the producing communities. The associations warn ...