Blaise Desbordes, general manager of Max Havelaar France, Marike de Peña, president of the Latin American and Caribbean Fair Trade Banana Producers Network (CLAC) and Alistair Smith, international coordinator of the Banana Link NGO, are calling for shared social responsibility of the entire banana supply chain, in an article published in French newspaper “Le Monde”.
In January, the agriculture ministers of 7 Latin-American banana-producing countries warned of the crisis affecting small farmers and farm workers.
Drop in prices and production costs on the rise
The situation is getting more and more complicated for producers and workers. In 2021, the price of a banana crate dropped below 10 euros [11.35 USD], its lowest level in ten years. And the production costs increased by 6%, causing producers to lose money. Other difficulties such as climate change and the fight against fusarium TR4 also add to the problems of this already fragile sector.
Source: lemonde.fr
Photo: Dreamstime
