Exotic Fruit in Germany

I don't usually think of the words "exotic," "fruit," and "Germany" in the same sentence, so when I wandered through markets and grocery stores there, I was amazed at what I found. There are things I've seen in the US - lychees, star fruit, cherimoyas - things I've heard of but never seen - mangosteens, rambutans, snake fruit - and then things I've never even heard of - sapodillas and tamarillos.

A mangosteen from Indonesia

The Victualienmarkt in Munich had a particularly impressive variety of produce from Asia, South America, Africa, and elsewhere in Europe: bergamot and Buddha's hand, jackfruit, durian, and Physalis, longans and Dragon fruit, and more that I can't remember or pronounce. I stopped at a stand selling snake fruit and rambutans, both of which I wanted to try.

A rambutan, native to Indonesia and Malaysia

 I talked with the vendor, a young man with a huge pair a headphones around his neck and an extensive knowledge of exotic fruit. He told me that rambutans are a wild relative of the lychee, which is widely available in grocery stores, and likened the flavor of snake fruit to that of pineapple.  I asked him where he gets the different kinds of fruit he sells. He explained that they are shipped directly from Thailand and South America, and go to the fruit warehouse in Munich, the second largest in Europe (after Paris). He gets deliveries from there, he said.

A peeled rambutan - the flavor is delicate, sweet, and floral.

Where does the demand come from for exotic fruit in Germany, I wondered. According to the vendor, Germans were interested in new varieties of fruit, especially more well known types like mangoes and pineapples. I paid for the fruit; he slipped his headphones on and turned back to a crate of kiwanos.

The scaly brown  peel of snake fruit looks incredibly like the skin of a snake

Demand for exotic fruits in Europe, as well as the US, has grown in recent decades. Higher incomes, increased travel and immigration, and larger changes in markets (oranges and bananas were hard to come by in Cold War East Germany) have all played a part. Europe supplies most of its own fruit - about 85% - with the rest coming from elsewhere in the world, especially Mediterranean countries.

Snake fruit, or salak, is a palm fruit native to Indonesia and Malaysia

The EU uses a variety of measures, including quotas and tariff-rate quotas, to limit imports and protect its own fruit producers. There are also preferential trade arrangements with some exporting countries, especially former colonies. For example, lower tariffs on specified quantities of citrus are granted to Brazil, Morocco, South Africa, and Israel, and to the Czech republic, South Africa, Brazil, and Chile for apples.

A tamarillo, native to South America

Another factor limiting exotic fruit imports to Europe are strict EU regulations governing size, quality, labor, and sanitary concerns. These are known as non-tariff trade barriers, meaning that while they are not direct taxes on imported goods, they still act as limits to trade. There are many procedures and requirements that can act as non-tariff trade barriers: sales taxes, minimum custom values, packaging and labeling specifications, discriminatory agreements, and temporary import bans.

In the same family as tomatoes, tamarillos have a similar, but sweeter, flavor

In the past, there have been trade disputes in which developing-country exporters argued that the restrictions ultimately served European economic interests rather than addressing actual health or labor concerns. Although some of these developing countries have preferential trade access, as mentioned above, non-tariff barriers constitute a significant restriction to trade. Inability to comply with regulations set by importing countries can be devastating. In 1997, the EU banned shrimp imports from Bangladesh, resulting in losses of approximately $65 million. These were short-term losses: many smaller farmers and transporters also had trouble adapting to repeated changes in packaging regulations.

In order to support growth of export-oriented growth in the agricultural sectors of developing countries, the EU should remove any non-tariff barriers that exist for reasons other than health and safety. Developing countries also have a role to play in creating a fairer trade environment. In a 2007 policy brief, the Asia-Pacific Research and Training Network on Trade (a UN initiative) stated that

"Least Developed Countries must demand WTO compliance and more transparent and effective control of non-tariff measures. They should also demand that standards in no way shall be set beyond the required scientific limit."

In the process, perhaps we'll see even more kinds of incredible fruit.