WINFA represents 3,000 members in Dominica, St Lucia, Grenada, St Vincent and the Grenadines told the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, Peter Mandelson that their banana exports had fallen victim to the supermarket price wars.
“This results in a race to the bottom as well as in a subjective devaluation of the real price of bananas to British consumers. Given the continuing escalation of production costs, it is our farmers who suffer most. For these reasons, WINFA has long been urging the establishment of some mechanism to investigate practices which we consider unfair in trading relations.” WINFA Co-ordinator Renwick Rose.
Mr Rose fervently stated his support for a supermarket ombudsman, describing the role as necessary in making the ‘Fairtrade’ concept a reality. The supermarket ombudsman was a key recommendation of the Competition Commission following its investigation into the supermarket supply chain. A decision on the matter is expected sometime before Christmas.
