§ Dr. TongeTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment her Department has made of the impact of the Agriculture Council's recent decision on the EU banana regime. [48866]
§ Clare ShortThe Government welcome the agreement reached in the Agriculture Council on the revised arrangements for the EU banana regime. The UK fought hard for the interests of Caribbean banana producers and the Government believe that it was the best deal available taking into account both Lomé and WTO obligations. It will provide the Caribbean banana industry with continuing access to the EU market.
The European Commission's proposals for additional aid to the Traditional ACP (African, Caribbean and Pacific) banana producers should help them to adjust to the new market conditions building on on-going efforts to improve their efficiency and quality. We hope that this can be agreed quickly.
Although the unallocated Traditional ACP quantity does not guarantee Caribbean suppliers a particular share of the market, at 857,700 tonnes, it is significantly larger than current levels of imports from Traditional ACP suppliers. Furthermore, the Traditional ACP suppliers are working together to ensure that competition among them does not undermine the ability of the more vulnerable producers such as the Windward islands, to market their produce.