Latin American banana producing countries are unhappy at the latest -35% price reduction in a recent promotion by German retailer Lidl. The week of March 13, the German retail supermarket Lidl, has published an offer in which it advertises the kilo of bananas certified by the Rainforest Alliance at 0.95 euro cents.
In a press statement the Latin American Alliance stated: “We, the signatories of this note, recognize and respect the right and freedom of all the actors in the value chain to decide their prices and advertise temporary promotions in line with their business plans. However, we do not want to let go the fact that this type of promotion undermines the efforts and investments in the sustainability of the Latin American sector made by producers (small, medium and large) and exporters, as well as they do not honour the commitments assumed by European supermarkets to support the efforts in sustainability investments in the sector, specifically, through the implementation of Shared Responsibility and consumer pedagogy to empower them towards an ecological transition.
"The price advertised in the offer corresponds to a 35% reduction compared to the original (€1.45/kg), and is misaligned with the real sale price of the banana. Therefore, such promotion sends a distorted message to consumers about the real value of the product, and contradicts the concepts of "fair price" and "living wage" to which retailers, essential to guarantee the environmental, economic and social sustainability of the banana sector.
"For this reason, we want to alert that these types of promotions are not taken as a reference model by the rest of the competitors, as well as the certifiers that are part of the shared responsibility of the sector.
"We all have to work together for a banana at a fair price, which reflects the efforts of the entire value chain, and specifically, of the producers and workers of the Latin American banana sector.”
A large Latin American banana producer and supplier to Europe and the rest of the world commented on why it is important for them to receive fairer and better prices from European retailers: “It is important because the production cost went up during the last two years because of the price of fertilizer and raw materials. Also we must think together with the retailer the sustainability of the banana industry and it implies more investment and a higher production cost in certifications that brings more social and environmental responsibility.”
Lidl Germany was contacted for comment but did not respond by the time of publication.
For more information:
Julio Mérida
Latin America Task Force
Email: jmerida@apib.org.gt