Hurricane destroys Martinique, Guadeloupe bananas

PARIS, Aug 18 (Reuters) Hurricane Dean has destroyed all of Martinique's banana crop and 80 percent of the plantations in the nearby Caribbean island of Guadeloupe, the head of the banana producers union said today.

Eric de Lucy, president of the banana producers union for the two French islands, estimated the cost of the damage to be between 100 and 120 million euros (134.5 dollar to 161.4 million dollar) and said he would be asking the French government for help.

''There are considerable economic consequences for this sector because there is not a single banana plant left standing in Martinique and more than 80 per cent of the banana plantations in Guadeloupe are affected,'' he told France Info radio.

De Lucy said it would take about seven months to start production again and even then it would not be back to normal.

''In seven months we won't have the potential of 300,000 tonnes of production from Martinique of Guadeloupe. We will only have about half of that potential,'' he said.

''Clients in France are very attached to bananas from Guadeloupe and Martinique and during that time we won't be able to provide them.'' Christian Estrosi, France's secretary of state for overseas territories, is due to arrive in Martinique today to assess the damage from the hurricane to Martinique.

Dean trampled Martinique, and other Caribbean islands yesterday as a Category 2 storm, pounding the islands with 160 kph winds and torrential rains that triggered landslides, lifted roofs of houses and knocked out the power.

French television showed acres of flattened banana plants.

De Lucy said there was a risk that some plantation owners would be disheartened and would not want to replant their crops. Around 10,000 people are employed in the banana plantations in Martinique.

He said he would ask the government on Monday for help to get the plantations back to normal.

Estrosi said yesterday that 70 per cent of sugar cane plantations in Martinique had also been destroyed in the storm.

REUTERS SKB PM2000