Latin American banana farmers demand better pay for climate crisis

Banana farmers seek better pay

Banana producers in Latin America are calling for better pay to help cope with climate crisis impacts as they face big drops in production from extreme weather during this year's super El Niño event.

Extreme weather hits key regions

High winds in Colombia, one of the biggest suppliers to the UK market, heavy rainfall in Peru and Ecuador, and expected drought in the Dominican Republic are already affecting production.

Previous El Niño caused major losses

During the previous El Niño cycle, productivity dropped by 13 percent in the Dominican Republic, 22 percent in Ecuador, and 6 percent in Peru compared with the year before.

This El Niño expected to be worse

Dr Carley-Jane Stanton, climate and environment lead at Fairtrade, says this El Niño is expected to lead to more extreme weather and we expect the impacts for producers to be more severe than in the…

“we expect the impacts for producers to be more severe”

Colombian exports collapse

Exports from the Colombian Caribbean region fell 32 percent to 122 million dollars between July and September this year. In September alone, shipments were down 42 percent year on year.

Prices unchanged for 40 years

While bananas are becoming harder and more expensive to produce, supermarket prices have remained unchanged for almost 40 years despite rising costs for fertiliser, fuel and labour.

Suitable land could shrink 61 percent

Producers need more help to adapt to climate change. Suitable land for banana cultivation could shrink by an average of 61 percent across Latin America and the Caribbean by 2050, according to research for the…