NationStates Jolt Archive

If you don't know, recently there was a cyclone in northern Australia which destroyed 85%-90% of Australia's banana industry. And since we don't import, that means that there's going to be a banana shortage. Huge banana prices.

So, should Australia import bananas while there's a shortage? I think so. I've heard a lot about outside bananas being dangerous and disease infested, but seriously, there's gotta be somewhere in the world which has quality bananas that we can import.

Most of the world eats imported bananas. I havent died yet...

Should Romania import kiwis? I think so: I like kiwis.

If there is money to be made by importing bananas (and there probably is), someone will do it.

And you can either buy them, or not. Bananas from other countries are not disease-infected as a rule, you know.

Eat apples instead? :confused:

Dangerous and disease infested bananas?

I don't pretend to know exactly where my bananas are coming from, but none have been disease infested.

As for dangerous, well...you could always slip on the peel. :p

And you can either buy them, or not. Bananas from other countries are not disease-infected as a rule, you know.

Australia has very strict rules about bananas.

If you don't know, recently there was a cyclone in northern Australia which destroyed 85%-90% of Australia's banana industry. And since we don't import, that means that there's going to be a banana shortage. Huge banana prices.

So, should Australia import bananas while there's a shortage? I think so. I've heard a lot about outside bananas being dangerous and disease infested, but seriously, there's gotta be somewhere in the world which has quality bananas that we can import.
Even the Big Banana at Coffs Harbour?:(

Eat apples instead? :confused:

I don't like apples.

For some strange reason, I had to think of this:
http://www.schwarzesocke.com/artikelbild.php?pic=10460

Australia is probably most afraid that if they import bananas, that it'll come with bugs, fungusses, bacteria etc that invade the country and destroy the ecology. It's most likely not that they think the bananas are not fit for consumption. (When I went there years ago, there was a strict rule at the airport that you couldn't bring any food across the border, for much the same reason. And that's probably still the case.)

I don't like apples.Oranges then

Australia is probably most afraid that if they import bananas, that it'll come with bugs, fungusses, bacteria etc that invade the country and destroy the ecology. It's most likely not that they think the bananas are not fit for consumption. (When I went there years ago, there was a strict rule at the airport that you couldn't bring any food across the border, for much the same reason. And that's probably still the case.)
And it makes perfect sense.
Where do you live, somewhere in the EU?

And it makes perfect sense.
Where do you live, somewhere in the EU?Can't blame the Aussies considering what happened with the cane toads and bunnies...:D

And it makes perfect sense.
Where do you live, somewhere in the EU?Yep, Netherlands to be exact.

Australia has very strict rules about bananas.

I like that in a nation...stirct rules on fruit are vital!

I say that fruit get way to much freedom here in England and we need to start cracking down on it right now, especially those damn foreign fruit! Loitering about in fruit bowls, tempting our young. It's WRONG I tell you! I was given gout by a spanish orange and the plague by a grape from some godforsaken far flung dung hole of a country with no hygene standards and too much bloody sun. Bastards.

Well, just consider what happened to the Irish in 1844 to 1849 when they imported potato blight from (probably) the US.
Makes sense the Australians don't want something like that to happen. (Well, ok, bananas aren't a staple food for Australians afaik, but you get the idea)

Well, just consider what happened to the Irish in 1844 to 1849 when they imported potato blight from (probably) the US.
Makes sense the Australians don't want something like that to happen. (Well, ok, bananas aren't a staple food for Australians afaik, but you get the idea)
It was the English.

It was the English.Yeah, but they got it from the US (1843, 1844) and Canada (1844)

Just goes to show how trade caries disease all over the world.

Of course, to be fair the Irish got their revenge by invading the US ;)

Yeah, but they got it from the US (1843, 1844) and Canada (1844)

Just goes to show how trade caries disease all over the world.
I think he meant to say that the famine was started on purpose by the English. You know, the Sinéad O'Connor theory.

Yep, Netherlands to be exact.
Well the EU is pretty loose with its borders right, and Holland is loose with pretty much everything?:p

Well the EU is pretty loose with its borders rightYeah, one big happy family (disregarding the Italians calling us fascist baby killers). There's not much point in trying to stop agricultural diseases at the border, since a bit of wind will blow it over the fence anyway.

and Holland is loose with pretty much everything?:pWell, we're not so much loose with everything, as we take it out of the criminal circuit and start regulating it. It's probably more about control than loosening up. Not to mention once it's decriminalized we can start properly taxing it.

Can't blame the Aussies considering what happened with the cane toads and bunnies...:D

Oh yes they interbred, producing all sorts of ridiculously talented, slimy offspring...now where is that picture again...gimme a second

Should Romania import kiwis? I think so: I like kiwis.
:eek: One should think they already do!?

For some strange reason, I had to think of this:
http://www.schwarzesocke.com/artikelbild.php?pic=10460]
Heh, for some strange reason I thought you had to think of this:
clicky :D (http://thorgal.studisurf.kaywa.ch/files/images/2005/9/mob5_1125992588.gif)

Heh, for some strange reason I thought you had to think of this:
clicky :D (http://thorgal.studisurf.kaywa.ch/files/images/2005/9/mob5_1125992588.gif)I distinctly miss the "sick" smiley they have on MSN Messenger on this forum... :D

Edit: But I guess that picture pales considering some of the things I've posted before... (Just ask Sowibi...)

I distinctly miss the "sick" smiley they have on MSN Messenger on this forum... :D
Aww, no, who doesn't love Zonen-Gabi? :p

:eek: One should think they already do!?


Heh, for some strange reason I thought you had to think of this:
clicky :D (http://thorgal.studisurf.kaywa.ch/files/images/2005/9/mob5_1125992588.gif)
Indeed.
My 'something' Banana
It looks like a cucumber...

Indeed.
My 'something' Banana
It looks like a cucumber...
Heh. Loosely translated (and made way less funny in the process) it's a riff on German reunification that appeared way back when in the Titanic satire magazine. It says: "East German Gaby (17) finds happiness (in the FRG): My first banana."
Which, you know, pokes fun of the infamous lack/non-availibility of bananas in the GDR and the run on bananas by its citizens after reunification.

And, yeah, now I've just about explained it to death. Thank you, Harlesburg.

Heh. Loosely translated (and made way less funny in the process) it's a riff on German reunification that appeared way back when in the Titanic satire magazine. It says: "East German Gaby (17) finds happiness (in the FRG): My first banana."
Which, you know, pokes fun of the infamous lack/non-availibility of bananas in the GDR and the run on bananas by its citizens after reunification.

And, yeah, now I've just about explained it to death. Thank you, Harlesburg.
It makes perfect sense now.
*Backs away slowly*

It makes perfect sense now.
*Backs away slowly*
What? You mean I should have explained even more? *exasperated sigh*
(Oh, actually, maybe I should have. The joke implies, of course, that she and her fellow countrymen have never seen a banana in their lives (which is, you know, bullshit, but still...) and thus, in their blind banana buying frenzy, can be fooled into eating cucumbers instead.)

Okay, now I killed it for sure. :rolleyes:

Sorry, Titanic.

I don't think we should import them. Yes prices will rise, I have 4 kids who love them, but hey it ain't gonna kill them to not have a damn banana for a while, lol, makes me laugh to think that people are so hooked on bananas they are willing to import them to get a fix.

I don't think we should import them. Yes prices will rise, I have 4 kids who love them, but hey it ain't gonna kill them to not have a damn banana for a while, lol, makes me laugh to think that people are so hooked on bananas they are willing to import them to get a fix.
Some people like bananas. So when they do to the supermarket, and get annoyed at the prices, they might consider buying a cheaper banana that was grown somewhere else.
So if you are an entrepreneurial spirit, you should go and buy a bunch of bananas from overseas, import them and then sell them at the current inflated prices.

It's the beauty of free trade.

Sorry, Titanic.Meh, can't stand that magazine.

Meh, can't stand that magazine.
I've never heard of it.

I've never heard of it.It's German, so that might explain why.

It's a satirical magazine, meaning it blows everything out of proportion.

They attempted bribing the committee that decided on who got to host the World Cup (and it would have worked if they had been serious about it...)
They founded a party with ludicrous demands for the German election
They attempted to bring sponges to the American Embassy in Berlin as a sign of solidarity with the Katrina victims

In all, their humor is rather insulting, in my opinion.

What? You mean I should have explained even more? *exasperated sigh*
(Oh, actually, maybe I should have. The joke implies, of course, that she and her fellow countrymen have never seen a banana in their lives (which is, you know, bullshit, but still...) and thus, in their blind banana buying frenzy, can be fooled into eating cucumbers instead.)

Okay, now I killed it for sure. :rolleyes:

Sorry, Titanic.
So it was a Cucumber.:)

So it was a Cucumber.:)
Why yes, well done, sweety! *gives li'l Harlesburg a cookie and a B+*

They attempted to bring sponges to the American Embassy in Berlin as a sign of solidarity with the Katrina victims

In all, their humor is rather insulting, in my opinion.
Whoa, that Katrina stunt certainly is.

But yeah, I don't think I've ever read the Titanic, so I don't care one way or another. I do, however, *love* that picture. :p And, just for the record, I have yet to meet an "Ossi" who is insulted by it. ;)

Whoa, that Katrina stunt certainly is.

But yeah, I don't think I've ever read the Titanic, so I don't care one way or another. I do, however, *love* that picture. :p And, just for the record, I have yet to meet an "Ossi" who is insulted by it. ;)Yeah, that picture is slightly more harmless. It's quite funny. The proposal to wall off East Germany wasn't.
Titanic just doesn't know when to stop. Eulenspiegel is much better.

It's German, so that might explain why.

It's a satirical magazine, meaning it blows everything out of proportion.

They attempted bribing the committee that decided on who got to host the World Cup (and it would have worked if they had been serious about it...)
They founded a party with ludicrous demands for the German election
They attempted to bring sponges to the American Embassy in Berlin as a sign of solidarity with the Katrina victims

In all, their humor is rather insulting, in my opinion.
Bribing in favour or against Germany?
It probably would have gone to South Africa if Charlie Dempstr hadn't have switched votes.

Bribing in favour or against Germany?
It probably would have gone to South Africa if Charlie Dempstr hadn't have switched votes.In favor. They offered Cuckoo clocks and stuff like that. The committee responded favorably. :rolleyes:

Aussies don't like our NZ apples either. Stingy bastards!

Aussies don't like our NZ apples either. Stingy bastards!
It is because theirs taste like flour and aren't crunchy.

It is because theirs taste like flour and aren't crunchy.
Good call, good call.

It is because theirs taste like flour and aren't crunchy.
Eww, really? That's just sad.

New Zealand: 1
Australia: 0

If there is money to be made by importing bananas (and there probably is), someone will do it.

And you can either buy them, or not. Bananas from other countries are not disease-infected as a rule, you know.

And there's the crux of the issue. Australia already has a horrible balance of trade. It's soil is so infertile, even the arable parts of it, that it's cheaper to import most fruits from South America than it is to grow it there.

It's not really about diseased fruit. It's about tipping Australia's balance of trade even further out of balance. Of course, if people really want bananas, it's either pay what South America or Africa wants, or else pay skyrocketing prices for native stuff.

Well, the current governments solution to anything is either import or export (expel) it. The last thing we need is a banana disease outbreak from imported bananas now.

As an Australian that works in the food industry I have to say a definate perhaps. I'm afraid 'perhaps' is as close as I can come to say yes, because I'm from Queensland, but I enjoy bananas. As long as they meet some very strict import standards (like, uh, no disease please!) we should probably go ahead with it. Of course, once these bananas are on the market it will be more competition for the locally produced stock. Everything seems to be a double edged sword these days, just like that sword with two edges.

Should Romania import kiwis? I think so: I like kiwis.
What sort of kiwi are we talking about here?
This one:
http://www.kidzone.ws/animals/kiwi.jpg
Kiwi bird.
Or this one:
http://www.sztaki.hu/~smarton/alma/kiwi.jpg
Kiwifruit.
Or even this one:
http://www.cedarland.org/_997962_haka.jpeg
NZ rugby league team, the Kiwis.

What sort of kiwi are we talking about here?
This one:
http://www.kidzone.ws/animals/kiwi.jpg
Kiwi bird.
Ooooh, I really hope this one. :) Then again, I don't live in Romania, so just send the little fluff ball to me. Romania can have the rugby team, for all I care. :p

What sort of kiwi are we talking about here?
This one:
http://www.kidzone.ws/animals/kiwi.jpg
Kiwi bird.
Or this one:
http://www.sztaki.hu/~smarton/alma/kiwi.jpg
Kiwifruit.
Or even this one:
http://www.cedarland.org/_997962_haka.jpeg
NZ rugby league team, the Kiwis.
Yeah and no we don't actually put Kiwi in the Kiwi burger.
Not the cute little fur ball or the fruit.
Just Beetroot and cow.