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Corbana Voices Tariff Concerns
Corbana, the national
organization of banana producers
of Costa Rica, has reiterated
its concerns about the new EU
tariffs, which is due to be
imposed to the tune of €230
(us$281)/metric tonne on banana
imports from January 1, 2006.
Corbana president Romano Orlich
said yesterday that Costa Rica
is hoping for a favourable
result from the arbitration
process taking place at the WTO
in Geneva.
He said the €230 a tonne tariff
could have negative consequences
for his country’s industry. “We
believe that the new EU proposed
tariff at €230 per metric tonne
would cripple if not destroy the
whole banana industry,” said
Orlich, “A significant increase
in the present €75 import
tariffs on dollar bananas could
prove devastating to the Costa
Rican banana growers.
Furthermore, new EU tariffs
could endanger the social and
environmental efforts that we
have been working on for more
than 30 years”, he stressed.
“The new import regulations
could lead to a reduction of
Costa Rican market share and a
fall in turnover.
Corbana supports the imposition
scheme based on preferential
tariffs, as long as the latter
is equal or inferior to €75 a
metric tonne. A tariff at this
level would enable Costa Rica to
survive and continue to supply
the EU market.
Costa Rica is the second largest
provider of bananas to the EU,
representing 28% of EU imports
from Latin America.
Workers on Costa Rican banana
farms enjoy superior living
conditions and higher salaries
than those in the rest of the
national agricultural sector,
according to Corbana, and well
above the average wage in the
global banana industry.
The organisation has worked
intensively to increase
productivity within the
framework of sustainable
agriculture in the last 30
years. Now, less than one per
cent of Costa Rican territory is
used for banana production, yet
it remains the world’s second
largest banana exporter.
Government, the agricultural
sector and the wider business
community continue working
together on initiatives to
improve the natural environment.
Corbana said in a statement:
“Unfortunately, decisions being
taken in Brussels and Geneva
about the new banana import
regime could make it difficult
for Costa Rican farmers to
preserve such a high level of
social and environmental
standards and remain
competitive. Furthermore, the
increased tariffs would also
affect the European consumers
who will end up paying more for
the Costa Rican high quality
bananas.”
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