The future of the Caribbean banana industry is under threat. Click here to read about how the reformed EU banana import regime, and negotiations to create new Economic Partnership Agreements with the EU do, and could, affect market access for Caribbean bananas.  

 

However the fight for a guaranteed future for small Caribbean farmers continues!! Leading this fight is WINFA (Windward Islands Farmers’ Association). Launched 30 years ago, WINFA has played a key role in helping small-scale banana producers in the islands of Grenada, Dominica, St. Vincent and St. Lucia convert to Fairtrade production.

Nearly 90% of bananas imported from the islands to the UK now carry the FAIRTRADE Mark which means that more than three thousand farmers and their communtities are directly benefiting from belonging to the Fairtrade system. WINFA and the farmers they represent believe that Fairtrade and the support of British consumers for Caribbean bananas is their only hope for survival.  'Since these now constitute about 88 per cent of all vital transatlantic banana exports, we can well understand why the St. Lucian National Fairtrade Committee chose “FIG FINISAN FAIRTRADE” (the creole way of saying that there would be no banana industry today without Fairtrade) as the theme for its recently held Annual General Assembly.' (Renwick Rose, Coordinator of WINFA).

Read about the work of WINFA and the role of Fairtrade in the Windward Islands in an article by Marcella Harris, President.

 

Economic Partnership Agreements

 

Banana Link is very concerned about the proposal to scrap quotas on ACP imports, because of the negative impact this would have on small growers, particularly in the Windward Islands. This would be a further step in the process of erosion of the trade preferences which have allowed some small growers to remain in the market. As far as West Africa is concerned, there is an expansion taking place which will be encouraged by scrapping the ACP quota.

 

 Photo credit: Fairtrade Foundation

 

This can only harm the market for everybody - including the Latin Americans - as more and more new plantations are opened up in Ghana, Ivory Coast and Cameroon.

Download two articles by Renwick Rose about the importance of Fairtrade to the islands in the context of the current negotiations in the new round of trade deals - the Economic Partnership Agreements - between the EU and African, Caribbean and Pacific countries:

 

The EPA and Bananas (1)

 

The EPA and Bananas (2) Securing and expanding our Fairtrade Advances 

 

To download an article by Alistair Smith (Banana Link) about EPAs and the banana industry (2008), click here.

 

Take action with the Trade Justice Movement 

Ask your local supermarket (either by filling in a customer comment card or by sending an email) to always offer you the choice of Caribbean and Fairtrade bananas.

 

Visit Support Caribbean Bananas for email addresses and more information about the campaign.