The human cost of the banana wars on Caribbean growers is the focus of a new book by industry insider Gordon Myers.
‘Banana Wars - the price of Free Trade’ fires a broadside at global trade interests which have wreaked havoc with the small Caribbean islands’ economies, from the perspective of someone who was at the heart of the trade.
Myers book traces the history of the regions’ banana trade and goes on to tell the story of how the US government, in response to the grievances of banana giant Chiquita, led the World Trade Organisation to nullify a European Community commitment to protect the livelihood of small Caribbean banana producers.
The main UK supermarkets, Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury’s and Morrisons are also singled out for criticism for exploiting the banana industry’s free trade framework to insist on increasingly lower prices.
The book calls for new arrangements in the EU to enable the Caribbean banana industry to survive into the future and asks the WTO to give greater consideration to the needs of small states with vulnerable economies.
The publication has attracted praise from a number of quarters. Glenys Kinnock, MEP, said: “I commend Banana Wars to all those who subscribe to the view that vulnerable producers need protection.”
Sir John Compton, the former prime minister of St Lucia, said: “Its publication is both timely and relevant in the face of the global trade negotiations now in process. Banana Wars should be compulsory reading.”
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