"Europe: "Reduction of banana import tariffs puts Plátano de Canarias in danger"

European banana producers reported that the ever-increasing presence of bananas from third countries in the EU market is putting their livelihood at risk.

In a meeting of the Association of European Banana Producers (APEB) held on 12 and 13 November in Brussels with the Association of Producer Organisations of Bananas from the Canary Islands (ASPROCAN), EU producers declared that the sector is suffering severely as a result of the gradual tariff reduction process being applied to banana imports from third countries.

"The situation has been getting worse over the past few months and is leading to a position of inequality, as it allows banana imports at prices that are even lower than the production costs for European bananas."

In this sense, they point out that "the lack of adherence to the food safety and phytosanitary regulations established by the European Union when dealing with producers from third countries enables these to access the EU market at much lower prices, which allows unfair competition."

In this context, the presidents of ASPROCAN and APEB, Santiago Rodríguez y Leopoldo Cólogan respectively, agreed on considering it "necessary to join forces to ensure that the current aid to EU producers is maintained."

Furthermore, at the meeting, which was also attended by French and Portuguese producers, it was assured that APEB will continue to request the European Commission not to grant Central American countries with the tariff exemption being applied to African, Caribbean and Pacific countries.