Hello Yellow—The Fair Banana in the Spotlight

For a good 10 months now, not only South Tyrol but all of South America has been holding its breath. The COVID-19 virus has a firm grip on the lives of many, including the workers on banana plantations in South America. As part of the banana campaign “Hello Yellow,” KFS, OEW, and the South Tyrolean world shops reached out to the smallholder cooperative EL GUABO in Ecuador to find out how the workers are doing on the plantations despite the crisis—and how we can support them in South Tyrol.

For ten days in October 2020, the OEW-Organization for One World, the South Tyrolean world shops, and the Catholic Family Association of South Tyrol toured 21 South Tyrolean villages and towns with the awareness campaign “Hello Yellow—The Fair Banana in the Spotlight.” Around 100 plantains were fried on site, 1,700 Cavendish and mini bananas were sampled, and people of all ages were informed about working conditions, environmental factors, and pricing policies in the banana sector.

Lianne Zoeteweij, Managing Director of EL GUABO, says: “We have learned to live with the virus in the meantime, but we are far from speaking of normality.” In spring, the strict lockdown in Ecuador led to widespread unemployment and impoverishment. The fact that work on the fair trade banana plantations continued was also thanks to the regular purchase of bananas in South Tyrol. Lianne Zoeteweij speaks of being “blessed” to have so many supporters who spread the fair trade message. The share of fairly traded bananas in South Tyrol stands at 3 percent, while in Austria it is already at 25%.

The fact that EL GUABO can currently shoulder the additional financial burden of masks, disinfectants, and rapid tests is also due to the efforts of the fair trade organization “Agrofair,” which also imports the fair trade “altromercato” bananas to South Tyrol. For several months now, it has been paying producers a premium for the additional costs per box of bananas. There is no such premium on conventional banana imports, and workers have been suffering since the beginning of the year from low banana prices, which make it difficult for them to afford essential needs such as food, medicine, or transportation to work.