P.U.P. Says They Can and Will Save the Banana Industry

Francis Fonseca

A protest is planned for this Thursday at Independence Village in the south where over a thousand persons have lost their jobs in the banana industry. The protest comes on the heels of an article in the international press that Fyffes has stopped buying bananas from Meridian Farms in Belize because of its links to a local businessman named by US authorities as a drugs kingpin. In recent days, businessman, John Zabaneh has told the local media that Mayan King was collapsing because of a long drought and the effects of the Kingpin Designation. Today, the tremendous loss of jobs was raised with P.U.P. Leader Francis Fonseca. He explains the role of the government in respect of a private sector matter.

Francis Fonseca, P.U.P. Leader

“It is a very important issue. The P.U.P. built the banana industry; we created the banana industry so we understand how that industry works. So yes, we are very aware of the issues affecting Maya King. It is absolutely true that it is a private sector company so the government cannot move in and bail out Maya King. But we are prepared to hit the ground running. We are prepared to dialogue with Fyffe’s. We are prepared to dialogue with other stakeholders in the industry to see where they can partner with Maya King or take up whatever slack there exists because of what is happening with Maya King. So we believe already, with the discussions that we’ve had with the stakeholders in the industry, that there is a formula to resolve this matter that will protect the interest of the workers in the banana industry.”