The French proverb that holds that 'the devil is in the details' is appropriate for the 200 banana market 2008. Average import prices in France and Germany and average retail prices in most European countries matched or were an improvement on the levels observed in 2007. Nothing would seem to have changed. The banana market would seem to have attained a kind of fulfilment. This is not true of course. The situation in 2008 must be examined under a microscope as the year was a rough one.