The whole of Germany loves fruit varieties such as bananas and pineapples. The fruit is imported from countries where the economic conditions and standards in everyday working life are comparatively difficult. This creates responsibility for the retailers.
This is why REWE has been supporting social projects in the most important growing countries, such as Costa Rica and Panama, with its "Central America Fund" since 2007. These include projects to improve drinking water and medical care as well as leisure and sports programmes. However, the focus is also on ecological aspects such as reforestation, more sustainable cultivation and safeguarding or increasing biodiversity. The funding that REWE has already provided now totals almost five million euros.
The proposals for the projects in the banana and pineapple-growing countries of Costa Rica and Panama come from local organisations. The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH supports the organisations in implementing the project activities. The aim of the Central America Fund is not only to lay the foundations for livelihood security and sustainable development. Rather, the aim is to initiate a structural change process towards fair, social, ecological and future-proof banana and pineapple production - also with the broad participation of the respective workforce and their local employee representatives.
From 31 January to 13 February, REWE and Nahkauf customers can support this commitment by buying bananas and pineapples. For every kilo of REWE Beste Wahl, REWE Bio and Chiquita bananas and pineapple sold, REWE will contribute ten cents to the REWE Group's Central America Fund.
Transparency about origin is increasingly important to customers. This is why REWE labels the pineapples and bananas from its own brands "REWE Beste Wahl" and "REWE Bio" with a QR code. This provides customers with individualised information about the plantation in question and the social and ecological standards under which the tropical fruit is produced.
The banana is very popular among Germans as it can be used in many ways: as a snack or processed into savoury dishes. Every German eats around twelve kilos of the yellow vitamin and energy source every year.
More than one million tonnes of bananas are exported to Germany (source Statista: as of 2019/2020). The same goes for pineapple: some like it on pizza and others as a dessert - but it always remains unique.