Pesticide-free bananas in the Antilles
Flhorban will not be on the market before 2017. "We have launched the production on 10ha. Before launching it on a large scale we need to see if it pleases the consumer", explains Philippe Ruelle, Director General of UGPBAN (union grouping banana producers of Guadeloupe and Martinique).
Visitors could try this "miracle banana" at the Antilles stand at the Salon d'Agriculture, where they noticed that they were smaller, slightly more acidic, but did not disappoint.
The banana sector is faced with strong, low-priced competition, such as that from Ecuador and Costa Rica. With 6,000 direct employees, the 700 plantations are the number one private employers in the Antilles representing 80% of agricultural employment on the two islands. Martinique (8,000 ha) and Guadeloupe (2,000 ha) produce 270,000 tons of banana per year and supply 40% of the French market.
It takes one week for the bananas to arrive in Dunkirk by boat, where they are then ripened. 4 weeks after being picked they are on the shelves in Europe. At €1.50/kg, bananas are amongst the cheapest fruit. The sector would not survive without European support which represents ''40 - 45% of the planters income".
After Hurricane Dean, which destroyed all of Martinique's banana plantations, producers decided to turn to "sustainable" agriculture. (They did have a finger pointed at them when they used Chlordecone, a cancer causing pesticide).
The producers launched a 5 year plan, when from 2008-2013 they introduced new, environmentally friendly measures and they "reduced pesticides by 50% in 5 years".
UGPBAN also created a technical institute for research, where they "crossed old varieties to create Flhorban 925". The Antilles producers hope that one day this banana will be recognised as a quality label.