Benin farmers resume pineapple shipments to the EU
Pineapple farmers suffered under a voluntary export ban, in place since last year, due to chemical residues found in Benin’s pineapple exports. This led to a loss of income and also a reduction in farm employment in a sector that has been identified as one of three key growth areas in the country’s development plan.
“Instead of tripling exports in line with the plan, our European sales ground to a halt,” said Xavier Satola, a pineapple farmer and president of the Benin Pineapple Exporters Association. “Without exports there is no sustainable production: it is like a locomotive that pulls the entire train.”
Benin produces 400 to 450 thousand tons of pineapples a year, which makes the fruit its third most important agricultural produce. Though overseas exports made up only 2% of total production, they accounted for half of the sector’s profits and promised a more lucrative future for farmers, the industry and its tens of thousands of employees, Satola said.
source: iaea.org
