[Closed] Could Britain single handily boost the world trade market?

Call Hugh F-W [url=

Bent bananas is a myth though, so i don't think it will work.

Ah, the bent banana myth. I don't think I've ever seen one that isn't bent

Yeh it's a complete myth.
However the buyers that work for supermarkets do stipulate certain 'quality' standards that does result in a lot of waste.

Free from restrictions that we weren't restricted under anyway.

Free from restrictions that we weren't restricted under anyway.

True that our fishing fleet weren't 'restricted' as such but had to share what was historically theirs since time immaterial.

http://ukandeu.ac.uk/british-fishermen-want-out-of-the-eu-heres-why/

Dunno about the steel industry but that's been decimated while we've been an EU member seemingly cos of cheaper steel from China. I honestly don't know how that works.

Dunno about the steel industry but that's been decimated while we've been an EU member seemingly cos of cheaper steel from China. [b]I honestly don't know how that works[/b].

As the cost of imported food rises, expect to see lots of programmes on the telly about veg growing and 1000 things to cook with cauliflower. Supermarkets will be desperate to take whatever shape of parsnip

Thatcher? So it took 26 years & no-one noticed?

True that our fishing fleet weren't 'restricted' as such but had to share what was historically theirs since time immaterial.

Fishing for bananas?

[img] [/img]

Ah cheers Cap'n, silly me.

Thatcher? So it took 26 years & no-one noticed?

Wasn't bent bananas a Boris EU myth that he circulated before he got sacked for lying? Like vegolate, smaller condoms, square tomatoes and not being able to buy a bunches of bananas with more than 3 on a stalk.

True that our fishing fleet weren't 'restricted' as such but had to share what was historically theirs since time immaterial.

http://ukandeu.ac.uk/british-fishermen-want-out-of-the-eu-heres-why/

No one can actually be thick enough to a) believe the banana thing and b) think we can build a world leading economy trading wonky fruit and veg can they?

Please let it be a troll.

all of the worlds "waste" we need currently rejected by the EU - bent bananas, crooked cucumbers, lopsided leeks etc

Serious?

You've always been allowed to buy and sell wonky fruit and veg. You jsut weren't allowed to call them perfect, they had to be class I or II.

it sells papers though, doesn't it.

Well, think about it. There's a shitloadnof profit that farmers throw in the bin because of said criteria. Now imagine if you took all that waste and sold it. Let alone the conciencious perspective, each item of produce now reveals more profit. Take Leeks for example, it was recently revealed we only receive 20% of the original product. Imagine if the other 80% could be sold. The whole agricultural industry would be in a very different place.

Wales would be thriving again.

Thought all the crooked fruit/vegetables was bought by the sandwich/pre made food makers

Just thick then.

I've just read the excellent "The Western Flyer" by Kevin Bailey - uncontrolled fishing never ends well, for the fish, or the humans who think there is unlimited supply.

Just thick then

No, that's my point it's regardless of the size shape or wonky leaves.

Boost world economy in the back of fruit and veg that for the most part we import....?

The OP is either a troll or a moron. I hope for the former.

No one can actually be thick enough to a) believe the banana thing

Some people are thick enough, if that's the term you want to use, to believe that the EU didn't express an opinion that a banana should be of the correct and proper curvature.

[b]COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 2257/94 of 16 September 1994

Laying down quality standards for bananas.

Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 404/93 of 13 February 1993 on the common organization of the market in bananas (1), as amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No 3518/93 (2), and in particular Article 4 thereof, Whereas Regulation (EEC) No 404/93 makes provision for laying down common quality standards for bananas

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 3
This Regulation shall enter into force on 1 January 1995.
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.

In all classes, subject to the special provisions for each class and the tolerances allowed, the bananas must be :

— free from malformation or abnormal curvature of the fingers[/b]

So there you have it. According to COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 2257/94 of 16 September 1994 a banana with an abnormal curvature is not allowed - only bananas with normal curvatures are allowed.

Unfortunately despite obviously spending a lot of time and effort, and presumably also a fair amount of money on the issue, the EU Commission doesn't actually stipulate what constitutes "normal curvature".

Which is really rather unhelpful. After all no one wants to fall foul of a binding EU regulation if they can help it.

http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CONSLEG:1994R2257:20060217:EN:PDF

Now that we are going to leave the EU I don't know how we are going to manage without their Bendy Banana Law.......how will shoppers manage? Will we be at the mercy of Tory governments? I'm so depressed.

Wasn't bent bananas a Boris EU myth that he circulated before he got sacked for lying?

It had a grain of truth - nothing in 'banned' but bananas are classified in terms quality - Class 1, Class 2 and 'Extra Class'. Shape and size being part of that classification. Its only bananas sold as 'Extra Class' that are subject to any conditions relating to shape - not that they should be straight but that they should not be misshapen. Anything not meeting that criteria would just be classed or graded differently.

It had a grain of truth - nothing in 'banned' but....

So they didn't mean it when they said "This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States." they were just joking.......it was just a big "banana joke".

Well as long as the EU Commission can use the Edinburgh Defence I don't see a problem.

And it's nice to know that someone in Brussels has a sense of humour.

Bent bananas is a myth though, so i don't think it will work.

1994 banana regulations were updated in 2011.

You're well out of date on your EU law cherry picking Ernie...

I see, it's all ok and no criticism should be leveled at the EU because they repealed the Bendy Banana Law in 2011? I can't see why anyone made a fuss then.

Anyone who thought the EU was concerned about the curvature of a banana is really stupid because that was then not now.

But does the EU still require that bananas be at least 14cm long? And how do you measure it - straight, or follow the curve? I think I might have eaten an illegal banana last week. If it happens again I want to complain.

EDIT : BTW I haven't been "cherry picking", I didn't bring up bananas, some one else did. A couple of people I think.

I see, it's all ok and no criticism should be leveled at the EU because they repealed the Bendy Banana Law in 2011? I can't see why anyone made a fuss then.

As you've seen, it didn't BAN overly bendy bananas it just required them to be classified differently. Anyway, I'm not sure that the UK's burgeoning banana farming industry was overly impacted by it.

That UK supermarkets choose to only get the bananas that confirm to the highest standard is nothing to do with the EU. Over here you've always been able to buy class II bananas (they're cheaper and the bend turns out not to impact the flavour unsurprisingly).

At the end of the day we do have high level products to sell and have always sold very well through out the world

Then you have the Forign investment and do you really think they are to pull out? Nope because they get massive handouts and the workers rights are far less here than in Europe and then we have the Energy companies are they to pull out when they charge more here to subsidise the end cost to the people in Europe.

We here buy more cars than the rest of Europe and if not most personal property within the EU and we also holiday more in the EU. So can the EU afford to be funny!
That is worth more in long term loss than business can bring in for the EU

So if the EU want to play games then bring it on

We here buy more cars than the rest of Europe

Not true. In 2015 the UK bought 20.8% of the NEW cars in the EU15 block, Germany bought 25.1%. Proportional to population though, the UK and Germany are about equal on approx 40 per thousand but half that of Luxembourg (80 per thousand) (Source [url= http://www.acea.be/ ]ACEA[/url])

and we also holiday more in the EU

Not true. The French and the Germans travel more (although the French for less days on average) and the Spanish are close. It's fair to say that the UK spends more on EU holidays than EU people spend in the UK though but it's hard to say whether the impact of a Brexit will be less tourism in the UK. The deficit in 2014 was 12B euros, lets see for 2016 (but, other than a shitty pound, I bet British people will still travel as much to Europe). (Source: [url= http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/ ]eurostat[/url])

More worrying from a Brexit/Car PoV is that the UK is Europe's second largest car exporter. Obviously a dirt cheap pound won't damage that but who knows what happens in the trade negotiations; it's not that hard to put tariffs to equalise the savings made by buying in a weak currency.

Britain struggles to wipe its own arse.

More worrying from a Brexit/Car PoV is that the UK is Europe's second largest car exporter.

grantway - Member
Thought all the crooked fruit/vegetables was bought by the sandwich/pre made food makers

Yep, those leeks OP is talking about end up in soup.

So there you have it. According to COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 2257/94 of 16 September 1994 a banana with an abnormal curvature is not allowed - only bananas with normal curvatures are allowed.

Yeah, except that's not what the text that was posted actually says, is it?

Hush with your facts and things. That an "abnormal" curvature could be sold as Class II but British supermarkets typically wouldn't buy them is not to be confused with the blind adherence to the urban legend.

I'll say it again. [b]Bendy bananas are allowed to be sold.[/b] The regulations concerned what class they get labelled as.

Ernie - for someone who tries to be politically aware, that is either a) wilful misunderstanding or b) a deeply disingenuous attempt to argue on false premises.

I thought you were better than that.

(...and the bend turns out not to impact the flavour unsurprisingly)

I've learned a lot about bananas since I started this thread.

As you've seen, it didn't BAN overly bendy bananas it just required them to be classified differently.

You see, you have deliberately misinterpreted what Commission Regulation (EC) No 2257/94 of 16 September 1994 says. It doesn't mention "overly bendy bananas" it refers to abnormal curvature.

So an overly straight banana would also fall foul of Commission Regulation No 2257/94.

That's the problem with the bendy banana issue people don't know whether it refers to bananas being too curved or bananas being too straight.

And the EU hasn't provided any guidance on the issue unlike the clear and unambiguous requirement that bananas be at least 14cms long.

Furthermore as pointed out although this regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States there are exceptions for class I bananas (slight abnormal curvature is allowed) and class II bananas (totally abnormal curvature is allowed).

However as the EU Commission has failed to state what constitutes abnormal curvature it is completely impossible to know whether a banana, or more precisely a bunch of bananas, should be classified as extra class, class I, or class II.

How then can this regulation which is binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States be applied?

Having said all that, the point is that despite its obvious short comings the EU did indeed have a policy on banana curvature, don't let some herbert tell you they didn't.

And more importantly how are we going to manage without the EU telling us what shape and size are bananas should be? Well there be anarchy? Will there be banana class war? Will bearded revolutionaries take our well-shaped generously proportioned bananas?

[img] https://lh3.ggpht.com/GrmfGJp3zEDTVL5yQNOjkiGLonbDtEDZcQXbyU7jPJou16OYauDRjKvqvBgipzXSBjGGyA=w300 [/img]

I'm worried.

Having said all that, the point is that despite its obvious short comings the EU did indeed have a policy on banana curvature, don't let some herbert tell you they didn't.

Ah, no. It had a policy on standardising classification of fruit.

That really is a very different aim. You are twisting it to try and bolster a political argument. This is what tabloid papers do. Shame on you.

No need to be, the wise ones will cut a deal on non-eu compliant bananas of which there is a surplus. We'll get them and other produce cheaper than the member states, maybe compensating for the per person loss of £ to the economy. Before you know it we will be well fed on naturally shaped fruits here in the UK, whereby our euro state counterparts will be restricted to the high price or producing such perfectly regulated fodder.

Call it scraps of you will, but you'll all be able to use the extra cash for extras charged on Euro-products.

Now, you think I'm joking but anyone whose been to the Caribbean will see how his works - high priced imported goods mean few luxurious motor vehicles but no one gives a fig how round a coconut is, as long as the Rum remains $15bds a litre.

It's alright, with boris in charge all we have to do is get rid of the royals and we can be a real banana republic.

I can't believe no one else has said it

Can't believe I just have.

It had a policy on standardising classification of fruit.

Which means the same thing as "a policy on banana curvature". Their policy was to, in part, classify bananas based on their curvature, unfortunately the didn't establish clearly defined standards.

Normal curvature, abnormal curvature, and slightly abnormal curvature, were laid down specific requirements to establish classification of bananas, unfortunately someone in Brussels forgot to find what normal curvature actually meant. Which made compliance to this binding regulation rather difficult.

Although to be fair they might have had someone looking into it, work in progress so to speak.

And as for your outrageous claim that I have twisted Commission Regulation (EC) No 2257/94 of 16 September 1994 to try and bolster a political argument, which is what tabloid papers do, I'll remind you that on the previous page I provide a direct link to Commission Regulation No 2257/94, so everyone is free to conclude for themselves what Commission Regulation No 2257/94 says.

Btw I notice that Commission Regulation No 2257/94 stipulates that bananas must be a minimum of 14cm in length but why are retailers allowed to call them "fun size" bananas ? Surely no can have any fun with a banana that size. It's often puzzled me.