Five EU member states have joined forces to call on the European Commission to reach a balanced multi-lateral agreement on the EU banana regime that will allow production within the EU to remain viable.
Spain, France, Portugal, Greece and Cyprus are keen to defend production within their own borders. They are the sole EU banana-producing countries.
Representatives from the banana sectors of all five nations met last week to unify their position and Spain, France and Portugal all agreed to work together to negotiate measures with the commission to compensate producers for a possible fall in profitability, should the EU lower the entry-price tariff from €176 (£150) to €148 for Latin American production.
The meeting was held between the French, Spanish and Portuguese agriculture ministers, as well as representatives from the European association of banana producers, APEB, and regional government ministers from the Canary Islands, where Spain’s bananas are grown.
