Close Menu
    Latest Category
    • Finance
    • Tech
    • EU Law
    • Energy
    • fx
    • About
    • Contact
    EUbusiness.com | EU news, business and politicsEUbusiness.com | EU news, business and politics
    Login
    • EU News
    • Focus
    • Guides
    • Press
    • Jobs
    • Events
    • Directory
    EUbusiness.com | EU news, business and politicsEUbusiness.com | EU news, business and politics
    Home

    The human cost of cheap bananas

    npsBy nps12 November 2015Updated:3 July 2024 No Comments3 Mins Read
    — Filed under: Focus
    Share
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Email

    — last modified 12 November 2015

    New report shows how increasing market power and Unfair Trading Practices of European supermarkets affect banana small farmers and plantation workers

    Banana workers and small farmers in developing countries are exposed to toxic agro-chemicals, earn poverty level wages and work in a climate of fear, reveals the report “Banana value chains in Europe and the consequences of Unfair Trading Practices” published today by Banana Link and the Fair Trade Advocacy Office FTAO. The report also shows how European supermarkets contribute to this situation by engaging in Unfair Trading Practices (UTPs).

    The banana supply chain has long been a symbol of injustices in the global trade market. For instance, since 2001 banana wholesale prices have fallen by almost 25%, whilst retailers have increased their share of the banana value to around 40%.The same period has seen significant increases in both production and living costs. Food, health, education and other living costs have rocketed, for example, by as much as 278% in the Dominican Republic.

    “Around 40% of the profits on bananas are kept by the retailer, whilst workers receive only 0.7 to 1%. This barely meets the costs of subsistence. It is certainly not a living wage, nor decent work, as defined by the International Labour Organization (ILO)”, says Iris Munguia, Representative of COLSIBA (Coordinating Body of Latin American Banana and Agro-industrial Unions).

    “The imbalance of power in the banana supply chain and Unfair Trading Practices of supermarkets come at a high price”, says Jacqui Mackay, UK National Coordinator of Make Fruit Fair! from Banana Link. “This generates and amplifies significant negative social and environmental impacts in most banana producing countries, including the denial of basic human rights, gender discrimination, a failure to earn living wages, and long working hours.”

    For decades a few multinational companies have dominated the banana market, negatively affecting the lives of workers and farmers. Now, the power has shifted to the supermarkets. “Concentration in the European retail market has rapidly increased in recent years and this will continue. In Germany only four supermarket chains dominate 85 per cent of the market.”, says Franziska Humbert, Policy Advisor Labour Rights and CSR at Oxfam Deutschland. “Supermarkets use their growing buying power to push prices down below sustainable levels.”

    The European Commission already acknowledged the prevalence of UTPs and will decide at the end of this year whether to propose stronger regulation or not. “There is now a window of opportunity in the European Union policy process to tackle Unfair Trading Practices in the food supply chains”, says Sergi Corbalán, Executive Director of the Fair Trade Advocacy Office FTAO. 50.000 European citizens have signed the Make Fruit Fair! petition urging the Commissioner Bienkowska to make a legislative proposal.

    The report is based on interviews of more than sixty actors from the banana industry in several Latin American countries and a survey conducted in Costa Rica in August 2015. It reveals several UTPs like one-sided clauses in contracts with producers and exporters that lead to cancellations and rejections of orders on dubious grounds.

    It documents market data both at European level but also focuses on the specific markets of the United Kingdom, Portugal, Malta, Italy, France, Germany, Austria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Latvia and Romania.

    Fair Trade Advocacy Office

    Add A Comment

    Leave A Reply Cancel Reply

    You must be logged in to post a comment.

    nps
    • Website

    Related Content

    EU approves EUR 300m for common defence procurement projects

    EU proposes e-declaration for the posting of workers

    EU calls on Apple to end geo-blocking on media services

    EUR/USD touches one year low as Trump takes control of Congress – Euro currency news daily

    EU artificial intelligence factories set for 2025

    Council agrees reform of EU VAT rules for the digital age

    LATEST EU NEWS

    EU approves EUR 300m for common defence procurement projects

    14 November 2024

    EU proposes e-declaration for the posting of workers

    14 November 2024

    EU calls on Apple to end geo-blocking on media services

    14 November 2024

    EUR/USD touches one year low as Trump takes control of Congress – Euro currency news daily

    14 November 2024

    EU artificial intelligence factories set for 2025

    13 November 2024
    BRIEFING

    Agenda

    This week, COP29 begins in Azerbaijan; finance ministers discuss the EU's annual budget for 2025; and MEPs hold a plenary session on EU-US relations, EU summits, deforestation and COP 29...

    EUbusiness Week

    This week competitiveness and environment ministers will hold informal meetings…

    Eurozone Economic Calendar

    Key economic calendar events for the week 11 to 16 November 2024

    The Week's Top Stories

    This week competitiveness and environment ministers will hold informal meetings…

    Advertisement

    Subscribe to EUbusiness Week

    Get the latest EU news

    Latest Posts

    EU approves EUR 300m for common defence procurement projects

    14 November 2024

    EU proposes e-declaration for the posting of workers

    14 November 2024

    EU calls on Apple to end geo-blocking on media services

    14 November 2024

    EUR/USD touches one year low as Trump takes control of Congress – Euro currency news daily

    14 November 2024

    CONTACT INFO

    • EUbusiness Ltd 117 High Street, Chesham Buckinghamshire, HP5 1DE United Kingdom
    • +44(0)20 8058 8232
    • service@eubusiness.com

    INFORMATION

    • About Us
    • Advertising
    • Contact Info

    Services

    • Privacy Policy
    • Tems
    • EU News

    SOCIAL MEDIA

    Facebook
    eubusiness.com © EUbusiness Ltd 2025
    Design and developed by : Dotsquares

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

    Sign In or Register

    Welcome Back!

    Login below or Register Now.

    Lost password?

    Register Now!

    Already registered? Login.

    A password will be e-mailed to you.

    We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.Ok