CASTRIES, St. Lucia– Less than a year after the St. Lucia government warned that poor quality bananas shipped to the United Kingdom might result in the loss of new contracts in Europe, the island has resumed shipping the fruit and now reporting being able to restore production levels to its contractual obligations of 2000.
Last December, Agriculture Minister Alfred Prospere, who led a delegation to the United Kingdom to discuss the situation with stakeholders, said that the poor quality of bananas exported to the European country had prompted a warning that supermarkets and other buys may not renew a contract next year unless there’s an improvement.
Fyffes plc, the Japanese-owned fruit and fresh produce company headquartered in Dublin, had written a letter to banana officials here complaining about the poor quality of the fruit exported to the Prospere and warned that with increased commercial farming from other regions of the world, the market had become much more competitive and local producers need to meet the high standards.
“The supermarkets are saying to us that this is a business. It is not about a hobby. It is a business, and they have to make a profit just like our farmers must make a profit. We cannot continue to supply the supermarkets with poor quality bananas if our farmers are to survive in this industry,” he said then.
But a government statement quoted the Minister for Agriculture as saying that St. Lucia’s banana industry’s fortunes were changing for the better.
“I am pleased to report that we have recommenced the shipment of bananas to the UK for the past nine weeks. To date, we were able to restore production levels to our contractual obligations of 2000 boxes a week as of July 2022. The hard work and commitment of our farmers, field officers, the Banana Task Force, and the NFTO (National Fair-Trade Organization) have paid off,” he added.
With more than 600 farmers directly involved in banana cultivation, the industry plays a significant role in improving the livelihoods of St. Lucians. Prospere reminded us that there was still work to improve quality and production.
“The UK banana market is highly competitive. Once you lose your spot on the market shelves, it becomes an uphill battle to regain that position. Farmers, we must focus on keeping with international standards to gain competitive advantage.”
He also said that the high fuel prices significantly impact the banana industry and that St. Lucia is restricted by the limited “shipping options available to us in the region.
“On average, our bananas take 21 days to reach the UK, while our competitors can export theirs to the UK in 12 to 18 days. The extended journey time can result in quality issues for our bananas. I think it is now time for us to explore all of our shipping options to reduce costs and travel time,” he added.
While in recent years, the island has diversified from the mono-crop agricultural economy to tourism and tourism and a banking serviced-based economy, agriculture, which now contributes to less than three percent of gross domestic product (GDP), still accounts for 20 percent of jobs.
The banana industry is declining due to intense competition from low-cost Latin American producers and reduced European trade preferences. Still, the government has helped to revitalize the industry.
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