We have a hard time differentiating a banana from a banana. And an illegal network was taking advantage of it in Spain

Although for years the Spanish public has trained to know how to differentiate between a banana and a banana, the truth is that it is not easy. The best example has just given us the Civil Guard.

Or, rather, the Alicante company that It is being investigated for spending more than 2,000 tons of banana imported by banana of the protected geographical indication of the Canary Islands banana. And that only in 2023.

A millionaire fraud uncovered by a breath. Because since 2021 the company in question It was part of one of the six official marketing entities of the Association of Organizations of bananas producers of the Canary Islands (ASPROCAN).

And if they have caught them, it was because a third sent an email to the association with A video in which it was seen The operators will unveil Bananas de Madeira and put them “on the tape where they are automatically packaged and labeled” with the distinctives of the Canarian banana.

Is it difficult to identify each other? Yes and no. Indeed there are substantive differences between bananas and bananas. The former are smaller: 135.5 grams on average compared to 237.7 and about 15 cm compared to about 20 of the second. In addition, their curvature is much more evident, their flesh is more yellow and, of course, they have motites on the skin.

For the rest, although there are densities in flavor, texture, caloric density and Other nutrients and organoleptic properties, They are very little significant. It is controversial to say it, but the truth is that the main difference between them are its geographical origin: the banana is Canary and the banana is usually cultivated in Africa and Latin America.

That origin is important because it gives the product of certain peculiarities (which go beyond the nutritional and even arrive At the time of maturation in plant), but they are not enough to avoid problems and confusion. That is why IGP has been investing so much in ensuring its main market: Spanish.

In the middle of the nightmare. According to what has transcended, the illegal network was working precisely during what It has been known as the ‘great nightmare’. From January 2023 to October 2024, only in three months of the 22 the banana had a price that we could call profitable. But that is a problem only for producers.

The plot, making banana (considerably cheaper) by banana, had a very considerable margin. It was an almost perfect scam.

From the Canary Islands they ask for traceability. And it makes sense: the Canarian banana is not just a fruit, it is all An industrial policy for the islands that has mechanisms regional, national and community in their favor. For years they have worked on ‘techniques’ for consumers to identify them easily (such as the famous sticker): you cannot leave the market to stop trusting them.

The problem goes further, of course. The reality of the Canary Islands banana, such as that of most Spanish agriculture It is complicated: we talk about a perfectly greased industry, but that has long lived under regulations that came good.

The opening of international markets and the arrival of fierce competition have made clear something that we had suspected for a long time: that our agricultural sector is A giant with mud feet and that if we want to remain leaders, we will have to make important decisions. We will have to do it sooner rather than later.

Image | Pepelopex | Steve Hopson

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