Despite the imports being given the green light by Biosecurity Australia, supermarket chain IGA has decided not to stock bananas supplied by the Philippines, instead favouring local suppliers.
“As Australia’s largest independent retail chain, we support local supplies of fresh fruit and vegetables and will not desert our local growers and potentially expose our customers to risk of disease in foreign imports,” said chairman of the IGA National Board, Mick Daly.
The independent owners and operators of the 1270 IGA supermarkets across Australia supply more than 40 million kilograms of bananas each year and the chain has a strict policy of favouring local suppliers where possible.