EU pays € 20,3 mln. of support to Canary banana sector

Tholen - The Canary Islands will receive around € 20,3 mln. in subsidies over 2005. This means € 0,059 per kg for banana grower, according to grower association Asprocan. This is far less than what growers received last year and also the lowest amount in the history of the Common Market Organisation for bananas. The payments to banana growers on Martinique, Guadeloupe and Crete however are supplemented, as the prices there were far below the European average. These cover 75% of the difference with the average price in Europe.

European banana production in 2005 was 13,65% lower in comparison with 2004, because of the important decrease on the islands Martinique (-8,1%), Guadeloupe (-8,2%) Madeira (-33,06%) and the Canary Islands (-17,55%).

Publication date: 01 May 2006
Author: André van der Wiel
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