By Sarah Bishton

SHOPPERS at Waitrose in Wokingham thought they were going bananas when they saw not one, but three Prime Ministers at the supermarket last Wednesday.

The VIP guests, all from the Windward Isles, visited the Rectory Road store to see how bananas grown in their countries ended up on the shelves of supermarkets in Britain.

The Hon Dr Kenny Anthony, PM of St Lucia, the Hon Ralph Gonsalves of St Vincent and the Grenadines, and the Hon Roosevelt Skerritt, of Dominica, were welcomed to the store by John Foley, head of buying, fruit, vegetables and horticulture, at the Waitrose head office in Bracknell.

The visitors mingled with shoppers and staff for more than an hour talking to shoppers and Waitrose staff, giving them recipe tips.

Mr Foley said: “We were delighted that the Prime Ministers visited our Wokingham store and saw their bananas at the point of sale.

“In the Windward Isles there are 105 independent smaller family units who grow bananas which is a lot different to the larger distributors in central America.

“Because of the environment in the Caribbean, the volcanic soil that the bananas are grown in adds to the sweetness of the taste and makes them smaller. “Bananas are the largest export for these Caribbean islands and by purchasing their bananas we are feeding their economy.”

After their stop over at Wokingham, the VIPs went onto the EU headquarters in Brussels to discuss world trade issues relating to the export of their bananas to the rest of Europe.