rossifumi

Stick 'em on ebay.

Vash the Stampede

You raise an excellent point, but I can assure you that (thanks to an information campaign many years ago) Australians are not being duped. They are well aware that the "Australian Made" sticker does not necessarily mean "100% Australian in every possible way." (Notice that the sticker does not actually say "100% Australian made.")

Since you are a foreigner, it is understandable that you will be confused by the subtleties of this issue - and since you are Arkon, it is understandable that your first conclusion will be "This is a rip-off; it's all a big scam, and Australians have fallen into it."

Fortunately, you are wrong.

There are several tiers of branding for Australian-related products. Each tier has its own unique logo:

• Australian made
  
  
• Made by a company with an Australian address
  
  
• Made in Australia or overseas, but has Australian-specific features such as Australian postcodes, tax laws, geography, history etc

Source.

None of these options are perfect, but the green and gold sticker is easily the best of the three.

Further clarification can be found on the Australian Made Website:
Source.

arkon

I think the stores in town might soon have to, I went shopping today and the banana shelves were full and looking a bit ripe, They were $5 per kilo today and noone was buying them. I asked around a bit and was told they were too expensive to buy.

So looks like I was right afterall, By pricing them so daftly high, noone buys the ones they do have, so exactly how this helps the growers I've no idea.
But if the supermarkets around here don't watch out they are going to be left with a mountain of brown bananas that noone wants.

Ialibu

Well, it looks like the price of Sara Lee Bananana cakes will bottom out for a while

The Brits put up with no bananas during WWII for quite some years so we can put up with very few bananas for 12 months.

Bananas have no genetic variation so the diseases that are rampant all over the world but not here will rapidly surface if we import bananas. We don't have any banana diseases here, why import them because people want bananas? Let people wait until we grow them again.

Furthermore They grow bananas from Coffs Harbour to about 1500 miles further north. So there will be bananas available, not as many as before. And on that note, Arkon, why don't you take a drive north for a couple of hours. The hills are covered with the things, they sell them by the roadside during the season.

Because of where you live, you of all people are much better placed than most on this List to indulge your tastebuds. Instead you vent your spleen and choleric (I like that last sentence )

OzTennis

You haven't answered my earlier comments I noticed. You call for decent debate and when another side of the argument is put, which I think destroys your argument you just ignore them and concentrate on those who you say name call and don't debate the issues and you just keep repeating the message.

Take the above - name me one market where price does not rise when supply is immediately cut by more than 50%? The kangaroo effect you describe works to your advantage when there is a good crop and prices fall. Would you have them not fall to have the 'stability' you crave for?

For the umpteenth time too, Supply being supplemented by imports of foreign bananas is a non-starter so don't keep banging on and on about it.

Your other comment about the product and its packaging amused me. Perhaps the devasted Queensland growers should restart their businesses with skinless bananas since you object to the protective covering bumping up the price? If they can't manage to produce a skinless variety then they should peel them at source. That will keep transport costs down and lower prices. That's what it will say in the textbook but there seems to be just one flaw in the argument I can't for the life of me spot.

OzTennis

Vash the Stampede

The growers have already been paid for their bananas (which is how they ended up in the supermarket), so they're sitting pretty.

Great! Supermarkets are bastards anyway.

Sod 'em.

jensteve

Oh new found joy..................

There are baby bananas on a tree/palm thing in the garden!!!!!!!!!

Keeping my fingers crossed they will continue to grow and make me a millionaire.

Jenny

moneypenny20

Just pick them and enjoy. Oh, and consider Arkon while you do

arkon

I've just had a look back to see what I had missed that has you upset. The reason I never answered was I didn't have a stong opinion either way, but seing as you asked and not being one to shirk an argument....

There of course is no such thing as a completely free market but some markets are more free than others and also less regulated than others, I find Australia more regulated and less free when it comes to importing goods and general trade. This is an observation based on my dealings in business here and back home. It's also based on being a consumer both here and back home. I have no figures to support my argument just my subjective view. I have already had to abandon on business here before it got off the ground due to the amazingly anal, restrictive and hugely anti-competitive nature of the country and its import duties.

Back to banana's, whoever said that I would be alright because banana's grow just up the road from me, just must be having a laugh. EVERYTHING here on the MNC is much more expensive than just about all the cities I've been to here. What I really can't understand is that it's the local population trying to racketeer of the rest of the local population. We can't afford the price here so why do they even try?

arkon

Firstly WHY can't they import banana's? The rest of the world manages it ok.

Secondly, I wasn't saying supply and demand doesn't cause things to rise when supply is short. What I was arguing against is the notion that somehow when supply is short because of a disaster like the one that has just happened, that the extra money gathered for the higher priced goods somehow gets back to the growers. Which is a complete fallacy.

Bix

Open and unregulated markets means giving equality to the suppliers to tender their wares at whatever price they see fit around the world.

However it disregards equality in the production process.

How can they offer goods so much cheaper than those produced in the destination country which is oft thousands of miles away from them ?

Unfortunately today it is not so much to do with their efficiency of process but due exploitation of cheap labour.

So let's all work for 15 hour days from a very young age in exchange for a few bowls of rice then we can have true and fair free trade which will result in the home grown products being cheaper.

arkon

But all the time there is no competition the home produced stuff has an unchallenged marketplace. I'm not one for cheap bowl of rice labour markets but unless the home producers are made to compete with something then they can charge what they like.