Martinique banana box

Pressure is building on the Winward Islands' banana industry as tough weather conditions continue to affect the size and overall volume of bananas.

That is the verdict of the Windward Islands Farmers Association (WIFA) coordinator Renwick Rose, who told Dominican News Online (DNO) that the fall in production was a result of a prolonged dry season currently impacting the region.

The dry spell continues to pose a problem for officials, with lower production leading to a drop-off in export volumes, he noted.

'Clearly that is increasing pressure on us at a time when we have enough worries in the market place in Europe, with all the problems with the tariff and so on.' Mr Rose told DNO.

'We can only continue to pray that the drought is about to pass to try and see how we can get back to significant volumes,' he added.