EU grants ACP banana-producing countries 190m euros

PANA

The European Union (EU) has decided to provide financial support to the tune of 190 million euros to 10 ACP banana-producing countries, three of which are in Africa — Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire and Cameroon.

In a statement made available to the press Thursday in Brussels the EU indicated that the decision was taken following the agreement reached in December at the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Geneva between the EU, ACP and Latin American countries and the United States.

To end a situation described as “banana war”, which lasted for over 10 years, the EU had decided to lower Customs duties on imports of dollar bananas to Europe from US$ 176 per tonne to US$ 148 and later, in 2016, to US$ 114 per tonne of Latin American bananas entering the European market.

The gradual decrease in customs tariffs will lead to increased imports of dollar bananas in the EU member states and will lower supply for ACP banana producers.

To offset expected losses, the ACP will suffer, the European Union has earmarked these funds to strengthen the competitiveness of the banana sector, promote economic diversification and compensate for social, economic and environmental impacts.

The statement said the ACP banana-producing countries will continue to benefit from the preferences of the European Union.

No quota or fee will be imposed on their products to access the European market.

It is worth recalling that ACP African banana producers (Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire and Cameroon) are the only ones in West Africa to have concluded with the EU an Interim Agreement on free trade compatible with the WTO rules.

These partial agreements that cover only the exchange of goods have been signed, pending the conclusion of complete Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) which equally include investment and services.