Brussels, 06/03/2001 (Agence Europe) - During a meeting last week between the European Commission and the four main Latin American countries that supply bananas (Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador and Panama), Colombia and Costa Rica reiterated their concern about the new Community regime (first come, first served) for banana imports. In a press release, the two countries state the new regime limits demand "while allowing free supply from Latin American producers and protecting: ACP producers through a tariff preference that implies almost unlimited protection; and community producers, through a guaranteed price system that allows them to sell their entire production without risk". The press release goes on to say: "In that context, as bananas are a perishable and oversupplied product, Colombia and Costa Rica reiterated that a country quota system for substantial suppliers is necessary to avoid a major fall in prices for Latin American producers, with the resulting impact in terms of rural employment, poverty and income". Both countries presented criteria that may serve as a guide for calculating country by country allocations in compliance with WTO rules.