Sweeten the banana deal
published: Saturday | December 10, 2005

THE EDITOR, Sir:

THE MINISTRY of Agriculture is asking us in its EU-backed campaign, 'Eat more bananas', to raise domestic consumption of the fruit from 45,000 tonnes to 75,000 tonnes per annum.

The sweetest encouragement to do our national duty and eat up more of this already beloved fruit is to lower the price. The economist, Dr. Marshall Hall, who has warmly endorsed the call to eat up our bananas, from his positions as chairman of the Banana Exporters Association and managing director of Jamaica Producers Group (JPG), knows this.

JPG is the biggest producer and has been leading the way in the scientific marketing of high quality fruit locally. So sweeten the deal, Doc. Get those prices down and watch consumption rise.

I am, etc.,

MARTIN HENRY

Columnist

Via Go-Jamaica