European supermarkets are reportedly requesting a decrease of 1.30 euros on the price of a box of bananas, which prompted producers and exporters of the fruit in several Latin American countries to express their dissatisfaction with what they call "inconsistency between the sustainable practices required of producers and commercial practices".

The Colombian Banana Growers Association Augura, the signatory of the communiqué, projected the 2023 export closing figures to be close to 103 million 20 kg boxes, which would mean a volume reduction of close to 5 per cent compared to the previous year.

The European market accounts for almost 65 per cent of total foreign sales of that product, which would be equivalent to a figure close to US$900 million for exports at the close of last year. Thus, the decrease of 1.30 euros for a 20-kilo box would translate into 60 million dollars a year for the country's banana growers, according to Augura's estimates.

According to the guild, if European supermarkets maintain their position of not improving prices, they will continuously decrease these figures since they are losing competitiveness through price. The banana guilds of Latin American countries such as Colombia, Ecuador, Guatemala, Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Honduras, and Peru pointed out that since 2020, they have had to deal with several problems that naturally translate into higher prices.

In the first instance, they point out the high costs of inputs such as cardboard, freight, and fertilizers. According to the communiqué, these are not currently at their pre-pandemic levels. To the list is added the fungus Fusarium Raza 4 Tropical Foc R4. The pest has posed a severe threat since it arrived in Colombia in 2019, making it necessary to increase investment to prevent its spread. The country had been training since 2015 for the arrival of this phytosanitary alert, an early action that boosted the protection of the 53,000 cultivated hectares of export-type bananas in the national territory.

Producers and exporters also mention insecurity as a factor to consider when analyzing the price of bananas in supermarkets. The unions interpret the increase of this situation in the productive zones as a result of the growth in demand for illicit substances. In the Colombian case, there has been an escalation in theft and vandalism of banana farms in the Urabá and Magdalena production regions. This problem and the contamination of cargo have merited a joint response from producers, the Police, the Army, and the Navy. Finally, the communiqué points to the certification standards required by supermarkets, as well as the policies promoted by the E.U. within the framework of the green pact, which require an adaptation of production practices that result in additional costs. The regulation of the international banana market regarding sustainability is based on three areas: social, environmental, and labour.

Emerson Aguirre Medina, executive president of Augura, referred to the need for a balance between the participants in the banana production chain, as well as the recognition of a reasonable price for bananas: "It is not possible to continue talking about sustainability or a green policy through the red numbers that our producers in Colombia have ". Aguirre added that this price "does not recognize the increase that has been given in labor matters within the framework of the collective bargaining between banana workers and employers signed this year where, for the first year, an increase of 14 percent was agreed only in labour".

The banana unions signing the communiqué urged "that shared responsibility not only be an initiative that remains under discussion, but that effective measures be adopted to respond in accordance with their role within the supply chain by paying a fair price for the banana box". The communiqué recognizes the methodology used by Fairtrade international sustainability label for calculating the fair price for the banana box as "transparent, available, accepted by the E.U. and that responds to increases in production costs and the requirements of sustainable agriculture".  However, "this methodology has not been initially admitted by the general retail supermarkets, who are the ones who set the tone in the trade route in Europe," according to Augura's president. "Therefore, we call on all supermarkets to accept this methodology, which takes into account various social, labor and environmental aspects for the calculation of a fair price for a box of bananas," he concludes.

The banana growers' communiqué concludes that "the commercial practices of supermarkets increasingly seek to obtain lower prices regardless of their effect on sustainable agriculture, thus turning sustainability into a mere empty declaration".