Costa Rica Banana Hopes
Rest on European Market
By Brian Harris
BANANERA EL ESFUERZO,
Costa Rica (Reuters) -
Costa Rican farmhand
Elbert Perez cuts
bunches of unripe
bananas in the blazing
sun and prepares them
for their long journey
from the world's No. 2
banana exporter to the
European Union.
One of the few farms in
Costa Rica that exports
exclusively to Europe,
owner Eduardo Gomez says
European Union import
tariffs on Latin
American bananas mean
lower wages for his
workers and a barrier to
creating jobs and
expanding trade.
"Without tariffs, all
the workers would
benefit, we could pay
better salaries, improve
cultivation. We have a
great advantage in
quality and productivity
that we are not able to
develop," said Gomez at
the lush Bananera El
Esfuerzo farm, where
wages are about $95 a
week.
After more than a decade
of tension over the EU's
preferential import
tariffs for former
colonies, Latin American
banana exporters see a
chance to finally reach
an agreement ahead of
next week's world trade
talks in Switzerland.
The EU and Latin
American exporters have
faced off over the zero
tariffs for African,
Caribbean and Pacific
countries, which say any
tariff cuts would be
devastating.
World Trade Organization
Director-General Pascal
Lamy said last week the
EU should make annual
cuts to its tariff of
176 euros ($280) per
tonne of bananas, to
reach 116 euros ($184)
by 2015.
In return, Latin
American governments
would sign a "peace
clause" and drop
lawsuits against the
European Union.
Ecuador, the world's top
banana exporter, says
Lamy's offer falls short
and wants deeper and
more immediate duty
cuts.
Europe is a crucial
market for Latin
American producers
because the Philippines
dominates in Asia and
the U.S. market is
largely controlled by
big multinational
growers.
"Europe has to be
flexible in negotiations
... We are talking about
2 million people in the
banana business in
Ecuador alone," said
Eduardo Ledesma, head of
Ecuador's banana
exporters association.
Latin American growers
say there is a lot of
resentment against the
EU system because the
region has all the
factors to make much
more of its banana
industry: low costs,
ample rainfall,
nutrient-rich soil and
easy access to ports.
"The Europeans give with
one hand and take away
with the other. They
give us economic aid but
then they erase it with
these high tariffs,"
said Arturo Castillo,
head of Honduras' banana
producers' association.
Still, there is optimism
about tariff cuts,
especially in Costa Rica
which, unlike Panama and
Ecuador, says Lamy's
annual tariff cut
proposals are
acceptable.
At Bananera El Esfuerzo,
easier access to Europe
would mean an increase
in yields, which
currently hover about
the national average of
2,500 boxes per hectare
(1,000 boxes per acre),
per year.
"The EU's final rate
could be workable for
Costa Rica, so long as
(the reductions) aren't
too drawn out," Gomez
said. |
