The European Banana Producers Association (APEB) has admitted that its growers are highly unlikely to achieve its hoped for level of financial support from the EU due to the good prices paid during 2011.
In an internal memorandum seen by Canary Islands’ daily El Diario de Avisos, APEB president Leopoldo Cólogan conceded that the positive results of the 2011 campaign would prove a “tough obstacle” to achieve its stated aim of increasing its support from the EU’s Posei programme by €30m.
Currently, Canaries banana producers receive €141 in financial aid each year, although APEB and Canaries banana association Asprocan had hoped to increase this total by €15m for the islands alone.
In the memoradum, Cólogan also conceded that APEB’s contention that European banana producers were losing money as a result of the lowering of the EU import tariff for dollar area bananas was “unsustainable” due to the good prices being received by Canaries fruit.
According to the publication, APEB’s president also admitted that the most probable scenario for Europe’s banana sector would be that it would have to accept the offer currently on the table from the EU – an extra €10m in support through Posei, €5m of which would be allocated to the Canary Islands.
