Banana concerns revived

Trade campaigners in Britain have expressed renewed fears for the future of Eastern Caribbean bananas.



This follows the European Parliament's approval of a deal to gradually end the EU's preferential treatment of banana exporters in African, Caribbean and Pacific countries.



The move is being made in exchange for an agreement by Latin American nations to drop their complaints.



A trade policy advisor for the UK Fairtrade Foundation, Aurelie Walker, says the farmers will lose out to their cheaper Latin rivals.



The European Parliament has also called for an increase in aid for some banana-producing countries, including Suriname and the Dominican Republic, to help them diversify production.