Jamaica, EU sign new $386-m pact to boost banana production
Jamaica on Friday signed a $386 million financing agreement with the European Union (EU) for support of the banana industry, the fifth tranche to be paid out under a 10-year programme of assistance to producers in the African Caribbean Pacific group of countries.
The funds are to help boost local banana production The aim is to boost earnings from exporting the fruit to about US$35 million per year for the next three years.
Since 1996, the EU has provided approximately $3.1 billion to the local banana programme.
“In providing this additional support, the European Commission is confirming its longstanding commitment to the development of the banana industry in Jamaica,” Head of the Delegation of the European Commission in Jamaica, Gerd Jarchow, said at the signing.
It is projected, said Jarchow, that by the end of its implementation in 2009, approximately 20,000 rural family members would have benefited from the EU Banana Support Programme.
