José Antonio Hidalgo, executive director of the Association of Banana Exporters of Ecuador (AEBE), analyzes the problems that the banana sector faces in international markets.

On December 26, José Antonio Hidalgo, executive director of the Association of Banana Exporters of Ecuador (AEBE), was elected co-president of the Coordinating Committee/Advisory Council of the World Banana Forum (WBF) of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

He is the first Ecuadorian to be selected for a similar position at the Forum, where he has announced that he will focus his actions on ensuring that international markets, especially the European one, pay a fair price for fruit.

In this context, Hidalgo analyses the problems faced by the banana sector in the European market and other destinations, in relation to the prices they receive.

- How are negotiations with European supermarket chains going for the export of Ecuadorian bananas by 2025?

It has been a major challenge for European supermarkets to understand and accept the true cost of sustainability.

Today, many chains still use bananas as a hook product, keeping prices low without passing on the real costs to the consumer.

This perpetuates a vicious circle that does not contribute to improving fruit production conditions globally.

To address this issue, we are developing global communication strategies aimed at the end consumer, with the aim of raising awareness about the real cost of sustainability and thus promoting significant changes in the valuation of fruit.

- In recent years, what progress has been made in the campaign by the regional banana sector, including Ecuador, to ensure that European supermarkets pay a fair price for fruit?

While the realisation of shared responsibility through the use of the Fairtrade pricing methodology by supermarkets and discounters remains the main objective to be achieved, there has been significant progress in recent years. Aldi Süd and Sainsbury's have modified their sourcing practices to adapt to the Fairtrade methodology.

This decision by these two supermarkets is a positive step in the right direction, even if other retailers remain passive to date.

- What impact does the fact that European supermarkets do not want to pay a fair price have on the banana sector?

The impact is significant and worrying for banana producers and exporters.

In recent years we have observed that the requirements of retailers and the regulations of destination markets force them to adopt measures with high costs that affect the sustainability of production units and commercial activity.

If the sustained increase in requirements continues, coupled with the absence of true shared responsibility, the future of the region's banana plantations is at risk.

- For the banana sector, what factors influence the calculation of a fair price?

A fair price considers multiple factors such as production costs, which include the payment of a living wage for workers, the adoption of the requirements established in the certification standards required by the destination markets, the implementation of alternatives to the maximum residue limits set by the authorities, price increases for inputs and services necessary for production and export, such as freight, cardboard, etc.

A fair price guarantees the economic sustainability of an activity that adopts concrete measures on the environmental and social axis while adapting to the requirements of international markets.

- How many and which supermarket chains have aligned themselves with the Fairtrade methodology?

At the moment, only Aldi Süd and Sainsbury's have taken concrete actions and measures to adapt their purchasing practices to the Fairtrade methodology, which is welcomed by the banana sector in the region.

Other retailers and discounters have only shown a vain interest in sustainability, as they have not in practice changed the predatory behaviour that is increasingly reducing final prices to consumers at the expense of producers and exporters of this fruit.

- What about supermarkets in other parts of the world, such as the US, Asia and the Middle East? Do they pay a fair price for Ecuadorian bananas and those from other suppliers?

No. This challenge is present globally and in all supermarket chains. That is why we must continue to lead it in all areas in the different regions that consume this product.

Now, as co-president of the World Banana Forum, what efforts will you make to ensure that Europe is aligned with the Fairtrade methodology?

Continue to promote, in the Forum that brings together the main actors in the industry: producers, exporters, supermarkets, certification bodies and others, the crucial issues to guarantee the sustainability of the sector in all its spheres, such as using the Fairtrade methodology as a reference for supermarket purchasing practices; addressing the over-certification of export bananas through the homologation of standards and auditing processes; facing the aesthetic demands that retailers and regulations impose on the product without considering their responsibility in the generation of human food waste for purely ornamental reasons.