Overview banana sector

31. January 2025

CLAC and Fairtrade Explore Key Factors for Worker Well-Being

A core component of the “Towards Living Wages in the Banana Sector” project is to promote decent work throughout the banana supply chain. To support this objective, the German Retailers Working Group partnered with Fairtrade International and the Latin American and Caribbean Network of Fairtrade Small Producers and Workers (CLAC).

31. December 2024

Ecuador: Empowering Banana Workers and Their Representatives with Support from Banana Link

The implementation of the project “Towards Living Wages in the Banana Sector”, led by the German Retailers Working Group, began in Ecuador. One of the core focuses was strengthening banana farm workers and their representatives. Strong worker representation is essential for achieving fair wages, as it amplifies employees’ voices, protects their rights, and enables meaningful social dialogue with employers on equal footing. To support this goal, GIZ on behalf of the BMZ partnered with the UK-based NGO Banana Link, known for its commitment to social dialogue and workers’ rights in the global banana trade.

30. November 2024

The German Retailers Working Group Enters Phase Two

At the end of 2024, implementation plans were developed for the next phase of the German Retailers Working Group’s activities to promote living wages in the banana sector in Costa Rica and Colombia. This marks the official start of a second phase of engagement by ALDI Süd, ALDI Nord, Kaufland, and Rewe.

25. July 2024

Legal studies on living wage mechanisms

The Latin American and Caribbean Network of Fair-Trade Small Producers and Workers (CLAC, as per acronym in Spanish) conducted research on mechanisms for paying Living Wage Differentials / voluntary contributions on banana farms in Colombia, the Dominican Republic, and Ecuador.

26. June 2024

Study on Banana Farms: Various Assessments conducted

In 2023, the German Retailer’s Working Group on Living Wages and Incomes, consisting of ALDI North, ALDI South, dm-drogerie Markt, Kaufland, and REWE Group, conducted various pilot activities as part of the project “Towards Living Wages in the Banana Sector”.

25. March 2024

German Retailers' Working Group at World Banana Forum

The German Retail Working Group (EH-AG) on living incomes and wages took part in this year's international conference of the World Banana Forum.

11. March 2024

Report on lessons learnt from pilot activities in 2023 published

Report on lessons learnt from pilot activities in 2023 published. This will lead to an extended pilot programme in 2024 and the development of long-term, scalable solutions.

29. January 2024

German Retailers Working Group at the Green Week: Panel on living wages and income

The Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) was represented at the Green Week in mid-January with the slogan #ichwillfair. The Green Week is an international trade fair for food, agriculture and horticulture and took place for the 88th time in Berlin in January 2024.

21. December 2023

Joint statement on the promotion of trade union work

Promoting trade union work in the producer countries is one of the goals of the German Retailers Working Group on Living Wages and Incomes in the banana sector (see Milestone 7 of the Roadmap). In this context, the working group is here publishing a joint statement.

19. December 2023

Study on decent working conditions on supplier farms

The German Retailers Working Group on Living Wages and Incomes in the banana sector has defined the development of strategies to create decent working conditions in the banana sector as one of its goals (see Milestone 6 of the Roadmap). In order to create a qualitative and quantitative basis for its further work on living wages in the banana sector and to identify key issues, the working group conducted a study to analyse supplier farms with regard to decent working conditions and trade union representation. Please click here to read the management summary of the study in German and English.

30. November 2023

Successful launch of the EH-AG in Costa Rica and Colombia

The German retail sector's working group on living incomes and wages in the banana sector has been officially active in Costa Rica and Colombia since autumn 2023. At the project kick-off events on 18 October in Medellín, Colombia, and on 6 November in Guápiles, Costa Rica, banana sector stakeholders from both countries met for a constructive exchange.

11. October 2023

Fairtrade Global Awards: Award for German Retailers’ Working Group

The German Retailers' Working Group on Living Wages was awarded in the category "Fairtrade Living Wage Leader" at the Fairtrade Global Awards and Business Summit in Nairobi on 4 October for its commitment to Living Wages in the banana sector.

09. October 2023

New INA study assessing the influence of purchasing practices of grocery retailers on producers

To support the companies, INA has published a study on behalf of BMZ with concrete recommendations on sustainable and responsible purchasing practices with a focus on the banana supply chain in Ecuador and the cocoa supply chain in Ghana.

24. July 2023

Weather forecasts in banana cultivation

Thanks to the weather platform 'Banana Observatory', smallholders have free access to meteorological data and can thus better adapt their production to extreme weather events.

01. May 2023

Human right to good work: German Retailers Working Group underlines the importance of trade unions

May 1 is Labor Day. Reason for us to underline the importance of Article 23 of the UN Charter of Human Rights: Decent working conditions and a wage that enables a life in dignity are an unrestricted human right. But trade unions are still marginalized, which is why the German Retailers Working Group wants to strengthen them.

19. April 2023

ALDI pilot project confirmed: Workers' representatives should be involved in verification processes

On the occasion of World Banana Day, ALDI SÜD and ALDI Nord present new findings from their pilot project on a union verification model of salary matrices.

24. January 2023

German Retailers Working Group Publishes First Wage Gap Report for Ecuador

The members of the German Retail Working Group on Living Wages ALDI Nord, ALDI SÜD, Kaufland, REWE Group and dm-drogerie markt conducted the first wage gap analysis in the banana sector in Ecuador.

23. January 2023

Second Event on "Better together: Retail Collaboration to Advance Living Wages in the Banana Sector"

On 6 December, retailers from Germany, UK, Belgium, and the Netherlands came together to discuss living wages in the banana sector.

17. January 2023

Vereint für existenzsichernde Löhne

ALDI Nord, ALDI SÜD, Kaufland, REWE Group und dm-drogerie markt unterstreichen die Relevanz eines gemeinsamen Ansatzes.