Yes! We Have No Bananas

But what's a brainteaser for the bureaucrats was clearly seen as a boon by smugglers. Although banana imports from Africa and the Caribbean are subject to smaller tariffs than those from South America, they cost more in European stores because they are more expensive to supply and produce.

Ferranti says cheaper bananas in the marketplace is what led them to the scope of banana smuggling in the first place. "We kept wondering how they can be selling these Ecuadorian bananas so cheap," he says. "That certainly won't be the case now."

© 2002