In order to manage the total volume of bananas entering the market, the European Union fixed quotas for the different production zones. For imports in excess of the volumes fixed in these quotas, exports incurred a prohibitive tariff in order to prevent oversupply.

• The annual ACP banana quota allowed the 12 'traditional' African and Caribbean producer countries to export, tariff-free, up to a maximum annual volume of 857,700 tonnes - the equivalent of their cumulated, best annual exports before 1992. Volumes were allocated to each of the twelve according to a system of licences, ie an authorisation to import for which the trading company applied. These licences were issued free of charge by the European Commission.
• The annual quota for ‘dollar bananas’ – or ‘third country’ bananas as they are more properly called - was initially set at 2 million tonnes with a tariff of 100 euros per tonne. Following negotiations in 1994, the so-called Framework Agreement was signed by the EU with four producer countries: Costa Rica, Colombia, Nicaragua and Venezuela. The dollar quota was raised to 2.1 million tonnes (then 2.2 million tonnes the following year) and the tariff was reduced to 75 euros per tonne. The four countries were allocated almost 50% of the import licences. Additionally, importing companies needed an export certificate delivered by the exporting country authorities and an import licence specific to the country of origin. Although granted free by the European Commission in function of the type of operator, a semi-legal trade developed between import companies - due to the fact that importers would like to sell more bananas on the EU market than the regime allowed them to import. At certain times the cost of a licence on this 'grey' market has exceeded the value of the box of bananas!
• EU banana producers were entitled, when the price fell below a certain threshold, to subsidies or, more accurately, compensation payments. This threshold corresponded to the minimum price required to cover production costs. The payments cease to be available when annual production reached a cumulative total of 854,000 tonnes (which it never yet has done.). 
• In 1995, with the entry of three new members to the European Union, an additional autonomous quota of 353,000 tons was added to the dollar quota, equivalent to the consumption of Austria, Finland and Sweden, bringing the total third country import quota to 2,553,000 tonnes per year.

The European Commission thus tried to satisfy the diverging interests of its members, but also to balance supply and demand within the internal market of its twelve, later fifteen members. This resulted in European prices on average 80-100% higher than on the world market, making the European market highly attractive to producers and traders.

However, a combination of changes in EU market shares for the major private multinational operators and the perceived benefits of the preferential arrangements granted to European and more especially to ACP producers quickly led to major international trade conflict.