Call for strike receives the support of
99.37 percent of all workers, with
13,946 votes in favor.
The national assembly of delegates will
now ratify the decision adopted by the
workers and will declare the strike at
midnight tonight, paralyzing activities
in every plantation in the region.
Banana crops represent 30 percent of
Colombia’s agricultural exports
(excluding coffee), competing for first
place with flowers.
Banana crops for export occupy 1.5
percent of Colombia’s permanently
cultivated land, and banana production
contributes with 6.3 percent of the
country’s agricultural GDP,
generating nearly 37 thousand direct
jobs and 111 thousand indirect jobs, in
particular in the departments of
Antioquia and Magdalena.
The European Union is the main
destination of the country’s banana
exports, and the volume of exports to
that destination is growing despite the
problems caused by access restrictions.
In 2007, these exports generated 385.2
million dollars and 73 percent of the
product was exported to the European
Union, as compared to 56.5 percent
at the beginning of the decade.
