UGPBAN

On Tuesday, UGPBAN, the union of banana grower associations in the French West Indian islands of Guadeloupe and Martinique, announced that it would halt its supply of bananas to French retailer Intermarché, Fld has reported.

The issue, according to UGPBAN, is not the price paid by Intermarché for unripe bananas (which are then ripened in the retailers' own facilities), but the retail price of €1.40, which it fears could damage the image of the islands' bananas.

The union usually sends approximately 15,000 tonnes of bananas a year to Intermarché.