Rainforest Alliance refused to attend a tripartite roundtable with banana producers and exporters from seven Latin American countries and leading European retailers.
The roundtable, scheduled on 27 November, aimed to address the conflict over new certification standards introduced by the Rainforest Alliance.
'Shared Responsibility'
Retail groups and guilds agreed that the Rainforest Alliance is obligated to define 'Shared Responsibility' and set up a specific committee for its development, comprising representatives of producers and retail groups.
Banana growers stated, "We are curious about Rainforest Alliance's refusal to participate in the dialogue, especially considering that they themselves have established the requirement for a Shared Responsibility following the Sustainability Differential."
They also clarified that the discussion was not about prices but about making the 'frog seal' fair again.
Banana producers have now requested a meeting with the certifier's Board of Directors, the date of which has yet to be defined.
© 2020 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Dayeeta Das. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
