Brussels, Nov 3 - France has won European Union permission to hand out advance payments to its Caribbean banana growers still recovering from the effects of Hurricane Dean last year, a European Commission document showed on Monday.
Normally, EU countries may only pay out their banana production subsidies as a lump sum between December and June. But under exceptional circumstances, and if a request is made to Brussels, the payment period can be brought forward.
"In August 2007, Hurricane Dean caused considerable damage to agriculture, in particular the banana sector, in the French departments of Guadeloupe and Martinique," the document said.
The hurricane had caused serious disruption to banana production, as well as "sustained and considerable" shortfalls in commercial revenue on both islands, it said, adding that the consequences were still being felt in 2008.
France was allowed to pay out up to half its 2008 budget of 381 million euros ($490.7 million) to subsidise banana producers in Guadeloupe and Martinique retroactively from mid-October, as long as it carried out spot and other administrative checks.
The EU's remotest regions receive extra aid under a scheme known as POSEI for the French, Spanish and Portuguese islands.
These are the four French overseas departments of French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique and Reunion, the Spanish Canary Islands, and also Azores and Madeira, which belong to Portugal.
The Canary Islands are Europe's largest banana producers, and also enjoy by far the largest yield among EU producers. Martinique ranks second in terms of volume, then Guadeloupe.
However, EU producers only account for less than 20 percent of Europe's annual banana supply of some 4.1 million tonnes.
The lion's share of the balance comes from Latin America, with the rest provided by former European colonies in the Africa, Caribbean and Pacific group of countries.
Portugal grows bananas in Madeira and the Azores, as well as in the Algarve. Greece's banana growers are concentrated in Crete and Laconia. Cyprus also grows small amounts of the fruit.