Quote Originally Posted by cyril evans awaydays View Post
No problem. The EU had an agreement with its former colonial countries that allowed preferential trade into the EU. This was called the Lome Agreement. The US (under lobbying pressure from Chiquita who grow no bananas in the US but have extensive interests in Latin America) challenged Lome at the WTO and won. The EU responded by trying its best to defend the African Caribbean Pacific Countries most effected but the US challenged again and won. The EU had to significantly revise its banana regime as a consequence. The cheaper dollar banana from Latin America as a consequence of US pressure decimated the Caribbean industry in economies far more dependent than Jamaica such as the Windward Islands. The EU scrambled to install a regime that at least alleviated some of this damage that was WTO compatible whilst also brokering a compromise with the US. The Cotonou agreement that replaced Lome gives significant funding to the affected countries and their producers that tries to soften the impact of US commercial aggression. The key reason why (if you lived in South Wales) you won't see many Geest/Fyffes bananas landing in South Wales ports.

What do yo farm in East Anglia by the way? I have a reasonable understanding of the agricultural sector in that area and how it operates that we can chat about?


In essence you agree then that leaving the EU would allow us to reinstate trade with Jamaica.
As I said I'm retired so I don't farm anything any more. Since you appear so interested though I farmed cattle and other livestock in Scotland when I did farm. I saw few banana boats in either place , although I did see a lot of lorries from the South Wales and Bristol when I lived in Dunmow in Essex.

I don't know why I'd want to chat about agriculture in East Anglia with you or vice Versa, but since you're trying to test me it's mainly corn and food crops with a high concentration of sugar beet and around the fens a lot of pumpkins recently. Most small farms here have been absorbed by firms like Pickavers so I don't know many small farmers and of course there's no reason why I should .

I've no idea why so many people here are so paranoid and think everyone is lying and involving themselves in strange intricate conspiracies to mislead people they've never met and never will.

It's getting very tiresome you know. Actually, the only reason I filled out the details on that profile was to discourage nutters from engaging in their peculiar counter intelligence games, but now it seems to have caused more trouble !

What's wrong with you ? Is it so remarkable that someone lives in East Anglia and used to own a farm ? I've actually done other stuff too during my life and lived in a lot of places since I watched the Geest Bay and Geest Port shunting in and out of the docks down there.
I might be wrong but I don't remember Fyfees coming in there at all.
That was a long time ago though and it doesn't matter any more than your half arsed Sherlock Holmes interrogation. Please grow up.