The guilds of banana producers and exporters from Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Peru and the Dominican Republic have identified that the retail chain Kaufland (Germany) is currently advertising an offer for a kilo of bananas of Latin American origin at €0.88.
As representatives of the Latin American banana sector, we reject the adoption of this type of
practices that ignore the role of supermarkets and discount stores in a shared responsibility. Supermarkets and discount stores must contribute to properly inform end consumers about the efforts that banana producers undertake to bring them a sustainable fruit that respects the certification standards and strict regulations of the destination market, by advertising bananas at a fair price.
Kaufland is part of the group of German supermarkets of the sustainable chains project coordinated by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH which, according to its statements, seeks to promote sustainable practices for the supply of products and to guarantee a dignified life for supply chain actors. However, in this case, Kaufland contradicts these intentions by demonstrating the lack of a real commitment, not considering mechanisms to guarantee the payment of a fair price, promoting predatory pricing practices and failing to contribute to properly inform end consumers.
Within the framework of the Fourth Global Conference of the World Banana Forum, representatives of banana producers and exporters required urgent actions and a concrete commitment from supermarkets to achieve the sustainability of the industry. However, unfortunately, we observe once again how a supermarket participates in projects and programs that divert its objectives from the real problem – the lack of shared responsibility – and in its practices adopts mechanisms that harm the sustainability of Latin American banana production.
Kaufland's offer adds to other supermarkets and discount stores offering a Latin American banana for EUR 1.19, a final consumer price that undermines industry efforts toward sustainability. The retail price of bananas has remained static for decades, making it the cheapest fruit on supermarket shelves. These retailers aggressively compete with promotions for the cheapest fruit disregarding sustainable production efforts.
For more information:
Coordinador@clusterbananerodelecuador.org