It seems that of late bananas have been on the minds not just of Journal staff, as we prepared last week's banana supplement, but also NGOs keen to voice the concerns of the sector's workers in source countries.
And it is no coincidence to me that after a spell of quiet, at least on the subject of bananas, from the likes of Friends of the Earth, the issue is rearing its head once more.
The reason of course is the fact that bananas have experienced an almost unparalleled period of price deflation this past year and there is concern surrounding the effects this might be having on working conditions. Unparalleled of course apart from 1996 when prices fell to 19p a lb. But I am not going to reiterate the very valid points made by my editor Tommy Leighton in his leader in the banana supplement about retail pricing strategy.
My point is that while the trade may see NGOs such as FoE and Banana Link as thorns in their side, they nevertheless have a voice and there are plenty of consumers prepared to listen.
While this is the case, it is imperative that those involved in the trade are whiter than white when it comes to ethical trading and have facts and figures readily at their disposal. You can be assured that the NGOs do and while prices remain low, the issue of sustainability of the banana industry at source will not go away.
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