Pausing Fairtrade entry to new fresh banana producers
11.03.2024
Fairtrade is pausing entry to new fresh banana producers in an effort to better secure incomes for banana farmers and workers. As of 1 April 2024, FLOCERT cannot accept new applications from fresh banana producers for 24 months.
Seeking to safeguard incomes for banana smallholders and workers, Fairtrade is closing the possibility for Small-scale Producer Organisations (SPOs) and Hired Labour (HL) organisations that produce fresh bananas to apply for certification for 24 months.
This is a step in Fairtrade’s efforts to strengthen fresh-banana producers by deepening benefits for farmers and workers and enabling them to earn a living income, respectively, a living. The goal is that the increasing demand for Fairtrade fresh bananas will enable existing Fairtrade-certified fresh-banana producer organisations to increase the volume they can sell on Fairtrade terms, earning the Fairtrade Minimum Price and Premium. This way, existing Fairtrade cooperatives and plantations can continue to build their Fairtrade sales as demand grows.
Effective 1 April 2024, FLOCERT will pause the acceptance of new Fairtrade certification applications from fresh banana producers for a duration of 24 months, with no exceptions permitted. This suspension applies to Small-scale Producer Organisations and Hired Labour organisations who are growing bananas to be sold as fresh fruit (i.e. from the product category “banana”, product type: “banana”, product form: “fresh”) globally. Producers seeking certification for other banana types, such as baby bananas and plantains, remain unaffected, as do organisations involved in banana production for drying and processing purposes.
If you have any questions, please contact us at comms@flocert.net.