This is because ‘they care about conditions faced by farmers and workers, despite supermarkets pushing the prices of bananas down over the last 10 years’.
The independent poll reveals:
Source: Brook Lyndhurst
The survey was commissioned by the Fairtrade Foundation for the second week of Fairtrade Fortnight, which is looking at the real impact of British supermarket price wars on banana farmers and workers and their families.
The survey shows that while consumers care most about taste, appearance, ripeness and price when buying bananas, once they learn about farmers and workers’ poor living and working conditions, shoppers are moved to make a difference.
The poll shows that 60% of shoppers think that they should take responsibility and choose bananas that ensure a fair deal for banana producers, and 58% think that supermarkets should increase the price of loose bananas to levels that allow farmers and workers to earn a decent living.
As part of the Fairtrade Fortnight campaign, a report called Britain’s Bruising Banana Wars reveals that in the last decade, the UK supermarket sector has almost halved the shelf price of loose bananas, while the cost of producing them has doubled. The resulting drop in export prices for bananas in producing countries means an ever-tightening squeeze on the amount producers earn for their bananas. This, combined with escalating production and living costs, means tens of thousands of farmers and workers’ standards of living have progressively worsened in the past decade, trapping them in an unrelenting cycle of poverty.
Over 10,000 people have already signed the Fairtrade Foundation petition since its launch seven days ago, asking the UK government to urgently investigate the impact of retailer pricing practices.
© FoodBev Media Ltd 2024