Members of the Association of Banana Producers of the European Union (APEB) held a meeting with the French Minister of Agriculture, Stéphane Le Foll, where they have requested support for the creation of a common front with the governments of Spain and Portugal for the undertaking of continuous monitoring of the entry of non-EU bananas into the European Union and the adoption of measures to prevent serious damage to the European banana sector.
This is the last one in the round of meetings that APEB has maintained with agricultural ministers of Spain, France and Portugal, seeking protection for banana producers in the outermost regions of these countries, especially before the entry into force of the new agreement between the EU and Ecuador, which will entail the import of larger volumes of Ecuadorian bananas by EU markets.
The APEB has emphasised the need to follow up the evolution of the banana market in Europe as a result of bilateral agreements with Peru, Colombia, Central America and Ecuador and the continued decline in tariffs for the entry of these products.
In this sense, the APEB has denounced Peru's failure to stay under the export limit set by the European Union, and noted that this sets a "bad precedent", as it could have a serious impact on the market and, consequently, on the situation of European bananas.
The initiative to set up a committee to monitor the European market was welcomed by the French minister, who agreed to its creation with representatives of different ministries of Spain, France and Portugal.
Relevance of the sector
APEB representatives stressed the importance of the banana sector for the economy of the outermost regions, noting that European production currently ensures 16,000 direct jobs and 30,000 indirect jobs, in regions which are additionally hit by the highest unemployment rates in the EU.
Furthermore, they said that this is an activity that has no alternative capable of providing producing regions the same economic and social benefits, and that the crop's abandonment would lead to large sums being needed from national budgets, the amount of which would be much higher than the EU budget devoted to its production.
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