BRIDGETOWN (CMC):

The individual member-countries of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) remain divided on the issue of bananas, one of the region's trade ministers said Saturday.

Dominica's Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Minister Charles Savarin told the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC) that the countries of the region should seek to find common ground quickly, as failure to do so could hurt them in the long run.

"We believe that one of the most important questions for us is to have a CARICOM position," Savarin said.

He added that the region's arrangement with the European Union, which gives it preferential access, has been under constant attack and the Caribbean region has seen its preferences eroded over the past 20 years.

"We find ourselves, really being confronted by the power of the United States, the power of the multinationals and the power of the Latin American producers," Savarin said.