With a few notable exceptions, supermarkets are still just paying lip service to the notion of shared responsibility, suppliers say.
by Maura Maxwell
(Article reproduced, with permission, from EUROFRUIT magazine)
Calls from Latin American and ACP banana producers for fairer pricing and a more streamlined approach to certification have intensified in recent years.
Trade unions, NGOs and industry associations from the main producing countries have joined forces to voice their concerns about the impact of low prices on wages, labour rights and the long- term sustainability of the sector.
With an average per capita consumption of 14kg, Europe is one of the world’s biggest consumers
of bananas. But the discountwar in European supermarkets, coupled with increasingly stringent EU regulations such as the Due Diligence Act and the Farm to Fork strategy, is placing an unsustainable burden on producers.
When it comes to sustainability and ethical trade, the supermarkets talk a good game. But has there been any real progress in attempts to persuade them to pay a fair price for their bananas over the past year?
Emerson Aguirre, president of Colombia’s Augura, says the joint lobbying efforts of producing countries have so far yielded limited results. “Over the past year, we have intensified dialogue with retailers, highlighting not only the real costs of production, but also the positive impact that a fair price has on guaranteeing decent wages, environmental sustainability, and social stability in the producing regions,” he tells Eurofruit.
“Thanks to these efforts, some supermarkets are beginning to recognise that maintaining low prices at the expense of producers is neither a sustainable nor ethical practice.”
However, José Antonio Hidalgo, executive director of Ecuadorean association Aebe, says Aldi Süd
and Sainsbury’s are so far the only retailers to have adopted the Fairtrade methodology (which uses a Fairtrade Minimum Price to ensure that producers receive enough to cover production costs and a sustainable livelihood) as reference and negotiating long term contracts.
“Aldi Sud has taken the lead by changing its negotiation practice from tenders into taking as a reference the Fairtrade methodology and treating suppliers as long-term allies,” he says. “We hoped that other retailers would follow, but so far we have not received real commitment from them.”
According to Richard Salazar, executive director of fellow Ecuadorean association Acorbanec, many supermarkets continue to put pressure on suppliers to pay less for the fruit. “The costs associated with the production of Ecuadorean bananas, which comply with EU standards, are high, which highlights the need for a fairtrade model that guarantees adequate prices for agricultural products. However, bananas have lost 20 per cent of their value in the last 15 years, according to Cirad,” he says.
“Although some supermarkets have responded favourably, the sector needs broader collaboration to ensure fair prices that cover the costs of sustainable production, to guarantee the sustainability of banana production in Ecuador, but also the supply of bananas to the European Union.”
Alistair Smith of Banana Link says the heat has been intensifying on major retail buyers to at the
very least pay prices that cover the investments producers are required to make in improving real social and environmental impacts. But while the German discounters have upped their game, the worst offenders now are the French retailers.
“Most of the big French supermarkets have been fingered as a bad example, pushing down what used to be quite decent prices to unsustainable levels since last year,” he says.
“However, the pressure will become irresistible as producers, trade unions and many other stakeholders are united in arguing for an end to cheap bananas that do not even cover the most basic costs of sustainable production.”
Asked what it will take to effect real change in the industry, José Francisco Zuñiga, executive president of the Colombian trade union Asbama, says a there must be a willingness on the part of the retailers to engage meaningfully with producers to gain a better understanding of the true cost of all the demands that they impose.
“Supermarkets need to find a balance between competitiveness and sustainability. As a trade union, I consider it important that we have made progress in generating spaces for dialogue where the need to pay a fair price for bananas is discussed,” he says. “Unfortunately, supermarkets and their purchasing departments have been the great absentees in each of the different meetings, discussion panels
and forums in which we have participated.”
Zuñiga is adamant that a more joined up approach between supermarkets’ buying and sustainability departments – much like the model adopted by Aldi Süd – is vital.
Suppliers also agree that consumer engagement will help them secure a fairer price for their fruit. “We have to raise awareness among supermarkets and consumers that the supply of bananas to the EU is in danger due to this policy of not paying the fair price for the fruit, because we also face latent threats such as TR4 and others that have increased production costs,” says Salazar.
Hidalgo concurs that engaging directly with consumers is essential. “They must understand that by accepting these discounted prices from retailers for our bananas, which do not reflect the real cost of producing a sustainable banana, we will never end the vicious cycle of low prices,” he says.
“We hope that in 2025 we will see positive moves from other retailers, who will put their money where their mouth is and become real players, rather than spectators.”
Photo by Eduardo Soares on Unsplash
