A major importer of fruits and vegetables has announced the launch of what it describes as a “super banana” on the Belgian market. The company, Port International has a history dating back over 140 years in supplying fresh fruit and vegetables to Belgian wholesalers and retailers.

The so-called “super banana” is so branded because while it is produced organically under the Fairtrade label, it has the additional advantage of being carbon-neutral. This means that in the production, it takes into account that its carbon dioxide emissions are offset and compensated by other projects, in this case, Port International projects in reforestation and clean drinking water.

Belgian supermarkets already sell bananas that are both organic and fair-trade, but Port International will be the first to combine these aspects with carbon neutrality. The project has the support of Fairtrade Belgium which has described it as “an important step in the right direction”.

Currently St Lucia is the only exporter of Fairtrade bananas in the English-speaking Caribbean, Dominica and SVG having ceased exports outside the Carbbean.