Bananas

These are bananas.

In the UK they would cost around 20p each. I have no idea how much of that is divided between the supermarket, grower and various middle-men. Bananas are the UK's most popular fruit, apparently.

If they are bought from a stall on the street, here in Yaoundé, four will cost 100 CFA (that is around 15p for four, or 2½p each). By local standards, that's expensive! They would cost less if they were bought at the large fruit market in town or directly from a grower a few miles out of town. As it happens, these ones are growing in our garden so they won't actually cost us anything!

Keep in mind, the 100 CFA for four (15p) is a drop in the bucket for people who have a few months left to get together 30,000 CFA for school fees for their children (around £40 at today's exchange rate but equivalent to over half a month's wages for plenty of people).

It makes me wonder why some people back in Northern Ireland complain about Fair Trade. If you pay an extra few pence on your bananas it could make a huge difference to what the people at the far-end get. Selling to the west at a fixed, fair price gives communities more chance to plan for the future. It could be the difference between sending children to school, being able to pay medical fees, or being at the mercy of volatile markets and western supermarkets having a 'price war'.

Think about it.