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nafex - [NAFEX] Banana banter

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  • From: Mike Levine <mlevine@umich.edu>
  • To: North American Fruit Explorers <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: [NAFEX] Banana banter
  • Date: Sun, 11 May 2003 19:34:33 -0400

Dr. Parmar,
I believe that my original post suffices to explain that indeed I do not know much about the costs involved in shipping plant material internationally.  There are lots of things I don't know a lot about.  I freely admit that.  That's why I religiously read and correspond on this list, so I can make informed decisions.  I'm here to ask questions and to answer some if I can.  I'm young (unlike most NAFEXers I've met), full of energy, and eager to learn from many of the wise and well meaning NAFEX'ers I have met and corresponded with. 
 
One drawback of emailing is that we are unable to look into one another's eyes, hear tone of voice, and read body language while communicating.  When I asked for opinions on the cost of shipping, I was looking for other's opinions on whether this was a reasonable cost.  Nothing more.
 
If you believe I was personally attacking you then maybe we should take this off list Dr. Parmar.  On the other hand if you would like to assist me you might supply the contact info for someone here who has the banana.
I look forward to meeting you and many other NAFEXers at the 2004 meeting.
 
I believe (and hope others do to) that no one on this list wants to read a bunch of emails about people bickering at each other over the semantics or poor wording of a message.  We're all here to learn/teach about fruit, right? 
 
My apologies to the list for stirring up the brew as I was not intending to do. 
 
Peace and Love
 
Mike
 
Remember, "There's no such thing as a stupid question..."
 
 
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Sunday, May 11, 2003 1:54 AM
Subject: Re: [NAFEX] Raspberry seed offer and bananas

Mr. Mike Levine  does not seem to be much informed about sending and receiving post parcels containing live plant material.
 
Banana suckers are not Rubus seeds that can just be put in an envelope and sent by air mail by pasting a 50 cents stamp on it.
 
The parcel of five banana suckers will not weigh less than five kg in any case.  The current postal rate in India for  SPEEDPOST parcel is US$17 per kg.  Then there are other costs too.  These bananas (and other wild fruits such as Rubus too) do not grow in my back yard.  I have to go to field alongwith some helper(I can not dig the suckers myself) and have to drive 15-20 km for collecting such material.
 
My bank charges a fee of US$5 for clearing the foreign checks upto 100 dollars even if the check is six dollars.  It takes 8-10 weeks during clearing.  Then some of checks I receive from abroad bounce and I do not receive the payment.  Though this does not happen very frequently but it does happen a few times in a year and I loose the money.
 
Though I am a fanatic promoter of these type of fruits, yet I cannot  afford to spend on this cause all from my pocket.  I am not that rich and have a also have a family to support.  So this activity has to be self sustaining financially.
 
100 dollars for forwarding was a very rough estimate and might have been barely enough to cover the postage.
 
Anyway, such controversies keep arising about my offers once in a couple of years and do not bother me.  I know there are hundreds of NAFEXERS who are satisfied with my offers.
 
I am expected to attend NAFEX Annual Meeting in 2004 and shall probably be offering my explanation on such issues too.
 
In the meantime I shall request Mr. Mike Levine the find out the postage for a 5 kg speedpost air mail parcel from his place in the US and Mandi in HP in India and see how much profit was I going to make.
 
Dr. Chiranjit Parmar
Horticultural Consultant on Lesser Known Indian Fruits
www.lesserknownindianplants.com
----- Original Message -----
From: Mike Levine <mlevine@umich.edu>
To: North American Fruit Explorers <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
Sent: Saturday, May 10, 2003 4:51 AM
Subject: Re: [NAFEX] Raspberry seed offer and bananas

> Not wanting to stir the brew up too much, but I'll put my two cents in.
>
> I once contacted Dr. Parmar about obtaining a hardy banana and he wrote
> "I shall send the plant material free of cost but you will have to pay for
> the forwarding which will be about 100 US dollars.
>
> But before that you will have to obtain an import peremit from the USDA as
> any material sent without proper permit from here shall be destroyed by the
> quarantine.  So please try to get the USDA Yellow & Green Label."
>
> Is that a small price (coming all the way from India?)  or is that
> exhorbitant?  I guess it depends how bad you want it.
> To me it sounded like a little too much money and hassle so I dropped the
> matter until now.
>
> Dr. Parmar did mention that he had sent a hardy banana to a NAFEX member in
> the past and never heard any feedback from him.  Anyone out there get a
> banana from him?  I'd be interested to try hear any feedback on it and maybe
> try to convince you to send me one since it's already here in N. America.
>
>
> Still wondering if there are blue raspberries out there somewhere...
>
>
> Thanks,
> Mike Levine
> Ann Arbor, MI zone 5b
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Lon J. Rombough" <lonrom@hevanet.com>
> To: "NAFEX" <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
> Sent: Friday, May 09, 2003 2:07 PM
> Subject: [NAFEX] Raspberry seed offer
>
>
> >    Recently there was a thread from someone looking for raspberries.  In
> the
> > course of the discussion, Dr. Parmar from India offered material (seed, I
> > believe) of a raspberry species from India.  Someone else objected to the
> > offer as a sort of commercialization.
> >    Since there are people on this list who are not members of NAFEX, it's
> > worth pointing out that NAFEX has had a long tradition of an Exchange Page
> > in it's journal, POMONA, in which members can make plant material
> available
> > for trade or for a small price, usually just about enough to pay for the
> > postage and the member's time in sending it.
> >    In this case, it seemed that what Dr. Parmar was doing was in the same
> > spirit as the Exchange Page, since he was hardly posting a huge ad or
> > demanding an exhorbitant fee, and what he was offering was relevant to the
> > thread to which it was connected.
> >    There are many members of NAFEX who have nurseries or large collections
> > of certain species and I fail to see that there is any harm in them being
> > allowed to make a modest mention of it.  Certainly it's unobtrusive enough
> > to note it in the signature.   Most members have enough common sense to
> know
> > not to abuse the privalege, and we have a moderator for those rare
> > individuals that do.
> >    -Lon Rombough
> > _______________________________________________
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>
>
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