A European Commission management committee for bananas has approved a transitory regime for ACP banana exports to the EU. The arrangements will be in force from March 1-December 31 this year and mean that ACP countries can export 615,000 tonnes under licence over the 10-month period. Licences to import some 160,000t were granted for January and February this year to enable ACP operators to plan ahead during eleventh-hour negotiations on the new, tariff-only import regime for bananas which came into effect on January 1.

Latin American countries are incensed that the tariff-only regime will effectively not apply until next year and complain that they are being seriously disadvantaged. However, Caribbean and African senders will have to pay the tariff for any volumes imported into the EU over and above the quota amount.

Of the total 615,000t, 468,150t will be awarded on a `”first-come, first-served'' basis in five equal tranches every two months, and the remainder allocated out based on last year's licences.

An agreement to divide up the quotas was needed to ”avoid disturbances” in trade flows with ACP countries and ensure enough supplies of the fruit in Europe, the management committee said.

But industry insiders speculate that this will divide the ACP nations with Caribbean senders at an unfair disadvantage over their African counterparts - particularly Côte d’Ivoire and Cameroon - which are able to produce much more competitively and are also closer to market than the small island economies of the Caribbean.

Meanwhile, the world’s largest exporter Ecuador has slammed the duty-free quota the ACP countries receive. “The tariff-free quota that the ACP countries receive, is, for the government of Ecuador, illegal,” said the South American nation’s ambassador to the EU Mentor Villagómez.

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