Regional banana dispute ends

The Windward Islands Banana Development Company (WIBDECO) and the St. Lucia Banana Corporation (SLBC) have agreed to discontinue a court battle for control of the local banana industry.



Its reported that the two parties have entered a consent order, which effectively ends a court injunction granted to the SLBC in March, preventing WIBDECO from ending a banana supply contract it had with SLBC on March 31.



The SLBC was removed from the list of companies qualified to sell bananas, since it had not obtained certification from the British-based Fairtrade Labelling Organisation.



On Friday, WIBDECO agreed to cooperate with SLBC in its application to acquire the Fairtrade certification.