Sandra Deras, a banana producer from Honduras, has made an urgent call to the country's authorities, requesting their intervention to support the banana sector, historically known as the country's "green gold" for its significant contribution to generating employment and foreign exchange. Deras expressed concern about the lack of financing, as it's leading to the loss of crucial international contracts and adversely affecting national banana production.
"We are missing out on signing important contracts at the international level because producers have no financing to raise the crop again," Deras said. She also stated that the crisis in the Panama Canal is complicating the transport of bananas from South America to the United States. This situation would benefit Honduras if it had a bigger production to take advantage of this opportunity.
The businesswoman lamented that Honduras is missing out on the possibility of reaffirming itself as one of the world's leading banana producers, while countries such as Guatemala are efficiently capitalizing on these circumstances. Information from the agricultural sector indicates that the country's banana production has drastically decreased to 20-25 percent of its pre-2020 capacity because numerous farms have had to close due to a lack of financing.
Before, approximately 5,000 Honduran families depended on the jobs created by banana plantations. This figure, however, has fallen dramatically to less than 1,000 jobs available in the country. Sandra Deras' call underscores the need for immediate government action to revitalize the banana sector, an essential component of the Honduran economy and a source of livelihood for thousands of families.
Source: hondudiario.com