As part of the Dutch, German, Belgian and British banana commitments, retailers have agreed to assess and adopt responsible purchasing practices that support the payment of living wages.
To support this, GIZ and IDH – convenors of the different initiatives – have developed the “Responsible Purchasing Practices (RPP) Framework for Retail in the Banana Sector”- in consultation with relevant stakeholders in the banana supply chain.
The RPP aims to support retailers in taking steps towards more responsible banana procurement. It provides a concise list of prioritised responsible purchasing practices including detailed guidelines for implementing these practices as part of the retailers’ sourcing strategies. The retailers – and other supply chain partners – can use the framework to understand and evaluate the relevance of each practice for their company, based on the context of the countries they’re sourcing from.
What are the challenges and why are responsible purchasing practices important?
The banana market is currently facing numerous challenges including: high production costs, phytosanitary threats, over certification, food waste (resulting from stringent product and quality requirements), new regulatory demands, and the threat of climate change. These issues are compounded by declining purchase prices offered by European retailers.
Banana producers face low market prices and a lack of clear, sustained financial commitments from retailers. This hinders their ability to ensure living wages for their workers and finance the closing of these wage gaps – despite the willingness of many. As a result, banana producers are requesting an increase in the purchase price of their bananas.
As upstream stakeholders – particularly producers and growers – navigate increasingly complex environments, it is crucial for downstream actors to share a greater portion of these challenges. There is a need for a more balanced distribution of value and risk across the banana supply chain – from producers to customers.
There is a growing commitment among European retailers to promote living wages for banana workers throughout their global supply chains. Adopting responsible procurement practices can benefit retailers, traders, and producers by fostering trust, collaboration, and stable supply chains, ultimately enhancing product quality and sustainability.
Responsible purchasing practices can positively impact thousands of lives globally
This framework is specifically targeting the procurement departments of retailers, but it should – and can – also be implemented by other supply chain actors, such as traders; and will serve as a basis from which retailers can rethink and adjust their banana sourcing strategies.
The framework’s development involved consultations with retailers, traders, producers, and producer associations via interviews, multi-stakeholder discussions and working groups. Producers provided valuable insights on the relevance and impact of purchasing practices for securing living wages in the long run. Consulting with buying teams (retailers and traders) ensured that the implementation guidelines are understandable and practical.
Next steps
GIZ and IDH plan to run training sessions with retailers’ banana purchasing teams to discuss the framework and develop a roadmap for implementation, enabling retailers to develop their own responsible procurement strategies. Furthermore, a review will be carried out in 2025 to ensure the framework remains relevant and practical.
You can download the framework here