Bananas deal edges closer at WTO -sources

Sun Jul 27, 2008 6:28am EDT

GENEVA, July 27 (Reuters) - The European Commission and Latin American countries have agreed on how to resolve a dispute over access to the EU's markets but other developing countries remain opposed, people familiar with the talks said on Sunday.

The bananas dispute is an obstacle to broader talks at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) on rescuing a global trade deal.

Under the deal reached between the European Union's executive and Latin American exporters early on Sunday, the EU's import tariff for bananas will be cut from 176 euros per tonne now to 148 euros from 2009, falling to 114 euros in 2016.


European officials were meeting ministers from rival banana exporters in the African, Caribbean and Pacific group to try to persuade them to accept the deal, one person familiar with the talks said. (Reporting by William Schomberg and Jonathan Lynn; Editing by Catherine Evans)