Delegates walk out after row on banana imports

A row over banana imports to Europe deepened yesterday when poor exporting countries walked out of WTO talks in protest at proposed tariff cuts for Latin American countries, delegates said.

Countries of the African, Caribbean and Pacific grouping (ACP) quit a full meeting of the 153 WTO members as exporter Ecuador hailed a bilateral accord for the EU. That agreement lowers tariffs on bananas from 11 Latin American countries. "ACP countries left in protest against the attitude of the EU, which they said had led them down the garden path," a source said.