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Contact:
George Jude
Friday, February 20, 2004 – In consideration of the national importance
of issues surrounding the Banana industry, and the need to address them in a
non-partisan manner, Prime Ministers, Dr. Kenny D. Anthony of St. Lucia, Dr.
Ralph Gonzalves of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and Roosevelt Skerrit of
Dominica have suggested to the Windward Islands Banana Exporting Company
(WIBDECO), that it extends an invitation to the Leaders of Opposition in the
Windward Islands to visit the United Kingdom and Brussels at the earliest
possible date to promote the interests of banana farmers in the Windward
Islands.
The suggestion came on the heels of a similar mission undertaken by the three
Prime Ministers. They met with the main supermarkets which purchase Windward
Island bananas, including Sainsbury, Tesco, Waitrose and Marks and Spencers, and
had discussions with the European Commissioners, regarding the likely change to
the banana regime in January 2006, when the European Union (EU) Commission moves
to a single tariff (tariff-only) arrangement.
The banana regime is set to experience further changes on May 1 of this year,
when 10 new members join the EU. Under the World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules,
the EU is bound to increase the tariff rate quota (TRQ) and there are concerns
that such an increase may exacerbate the oversupply conditions of the market and
further depress prices.
Since the price war, which was instigated by Asda-Wal Mart in August 2002, the
retail price of bananas in the United Kingdom (UK) has fallen by 31 per cent.
There are fears in the banana trade that the latest price drop, which was less
than a month ago, may not be the last.
It was the concerns over such developments in the market and the imminent
changes to the EU banana import regime that led WIBDECO, on the advice of the
prime minister to initiate the high level mission.
It is hoped that from this experience, Opposition Leaders will see the problems
of the industry in a national context, and that rather than politicising the
issues, they will work alongside Government in promoting the interests of banana
farmers in the region.
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