Supermarket banana price wars are threatening fairtrade’s work
The banana is one of the biggest successes of the Fairtrade movement in recent years. For a long time, the banana industry was a a terrible industry, child labourer was used on the plantations, dangerous chemicals polluted sensitive environments and eco systems and anybody who asked for a better deal was threatened and intimidated.
Understandably, there was an outcry. About one in three bananas bought in this country now is Fairtrade a huge leap in the space of 15 years, resulting in significant improvements at many plantations. Oxfam have campaigned to promote Fairtrade bananas now Sainsbury’s and Waitrose now sell only Fairtrade bananas. In addition to the price paid, there is a premium worth millions of pounds a year for education and social projects in developing countries.
The commercial manger of Windward Islands Farmers Association, Eustace Vitalis, says that fairtrade agreements have helped to create a banana industry renaissance in the Islands, with the extra money being used to help out healthcare and education. Fairtrade has also been a success in Columbia and the Dominican Republic.
You would think that the supermarkets would love telling people about this success story but instead it would seem they prefer to go to war with each other. Asda has repeatedly slashed the price of their bananas, from 97p a kilo last July to 55p in September, typically other supermarkets have cut their prices in response. Eventually this will take its toll on the fruit producers and all the hard work in fairtrade will have been for nothing. Everybody likes to save money and get products at a cheaper price but supermarkets need to choose another standard-bearer so their price wars don’t get out of control.
