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PARAMARIBO,
Suriname:
Suriname’s
ambassador to
the European
Union (EU),
Gerard Hiwat, on
Tuesday is
expected to
defend the ACP’s
position on the
banana trade
with Europe,
during a meeting
with WTO’s
Director General
Pascal Lamy,
Trade Minister
Clifford Marica
said in an
invited comment
Monday.
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Suriname
Trade
Minister
Clifford
Marica |
Marica noted
that it appears
that the EU, as
a result of a
recent WTO
ruling, which
came after a
challenge by the
USA and Central
American banana
producers, is
likely to reduce
or strike off
its 176 euros
duty per ton for
banana imports.
This will
seriously harm
the banana
industry in
Africa and
especially the
Caribbean, since
several regional
economies and
thousands
households
depend heavily
on this
industry.
“If the European
Union reduces or
nullify the
tariffs, the ACP
countries won’t
be able to
compete with the
Latin American
producers, since
those producers
have better
production
facilities and
structures and
could export at
a much lower
price,” minister
Marica warned.
“Therefore we
are calling on
the EU and the
WTO to
reconsider the
decision to
abandon the
tariffs,” he
added.
At a meeting on
February 12,
2008, the
Caribbean Banana
Exporters
Association (CBEA),
representing the
banana exporting
interests of
Belize,
Dominican
Republic,
Jamaica,
Suriname and the
Windward
Islands, met
with their
counterparts of
Cameroon and
Cote d' Ivoire
to discuss
pressing
concerns over
the European
banana trade.
While the
various Economic
Partnership
Agreements (EPAs)
between the
Caribbean
region,
Cameroon, Cote
d'Ivoire, Ghana
and the European
Union were
welcomed, the
CBEA expressed
grave concern
that the EU
seemed to back
out of prior
assurances.
According to
Marica, in an
effort to
safeguard the
viability of the
ACP banana
industries and
the livelihood
of the
producers, the
meeting urged
the EU to
discuss this
matter again.
Reportedly
separate letters
were sent to EU
Commissioner
Peter Mandelson
and WTO Chief
Pascal Lamy for
an invitation to
explain the
ACP’s position
and concerns.
Suriname’s
ambassador in
Brussels Gerard
Hiwat was
therefore
appointed and
subsequently
invited by Lamy
to discuss the
matter Tuesday.
During the CBEA
meeting with its
African partners
earlier this
month, the EU
has been invited
to “recognize
the structural,
social and
economic factors
that justify the
long standing
preference
granted to
banana
industries of
the ACP;
recognize that
under the
current EU
tariff
structure, from
January 2006 to
November 2007,
ACP exports have
grown by 74,000
tonnes while
Latin American
exports have
grown by 635,000
tonnes,” the
organization
said in a
statement.
The participants
also argued for
the EU “not make
a premature
offer for
bananas in their
negotiations
with Central
America or other
non-ACP
regions”.
The Suriname
Trade Minister
recognises,
however, that if
the ACP lose
this battle,
banana producers
should try
finding ways and
means to produce
more efficiently
and at lower
cost in order to
survive.
“But it won’t be
easy, since
there will
remain certain
factors which
contribute to
higher
production costs
for banana
growers in our
region than in
Central
America,” Marica
noted.
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