The latest round of price-cutting in the banana category has been condemned by overseas aid charities.
Asda slashed 5p off a kilo of loose bananas in its stores on Wednesday, bringing the price down from 77p to 72p. As has become the norm, Tesco and Morrisons took the same road on Thursday, while ‘100 per cent Fairtrade’ Sainsbury's held out for another 24 hours only.
The supermarkets would argue that they are trying to keep bananas competitive at a time when the shelves are awash with other fruits, and Asda claimed its suppliers are “absolutely not missing out”, as it bends over backwards to meet consumer expectations. But a spokeswoman for the Fairtrade Foundation said that price wars will “have a devastating effect down the supply chain, putting pressure on suppliers and ultimately contributing to the poor treatment of plantation workers in the developing world”, according to the Observer.
Action Aid campaigner Jenny Ricks said: “If a supermarket drives its supply base into the ground it is not providing a sustainable food source for its customers. There is a limit to how hard they [the supermarkets] can drive these bargains.”
