(BBC) The European parliament yesterday approved a deal to reduce import tariffs on Latin American bananas.
Lawmakers in Brussels voted 501 in favour to 114 against, to give the green light to a December 2009 deal that was brokered by the World Trade Organisation.
The move is seen as one intended to end a decades-long banana war between the EU and the Americas.
Caribbean producers who enjoy preferential market access in Europe have been speaking out against a deal they insist will further damage their banana industry.
The new arrangement now means that customs duties on Latin bananas entering the EU will gradually fall from $US 240 dollars to $US 114 dollars by 2017.
The EU has offered a $US 272 million package to Caribbean, African and Pacific banana growers as a cushion for their projected losses.
