Export and comparative advantage

I quote Ricardo from Wikipedia here: "if two countries capable of producing two commodities engage in the free market, then each country will increase its overall consumption by exporting the good for which it has a comparative advantage while importing the other good, provided that there exist differences in labor productivity between both countries"

I have found in many cases when countries export and import the same good.
Why so much ado about nothing ? If you have a good then why export it and then import it ? Is this a case of difference in quality of goods ? Or a case of inter-temporal pricing and arbitrage seeking behavior of manufacturers ?

Consider an example of banana here. (Screenshot attached). Belgium-Luxembourg both imports and exports bananas. Why ?
I have seen similar behavior of countries for iron ore, etc. as well. Just confuses me. Can someone throw some light ? Thanks in advance.

Link: (html)https://atlas.media.mit.edu/en/profile/hs/0803/(h…

 

It might have to do with shipping and transportation costs. So Belgium might import bananas from Costa Rica and then export them to the rest of Europe, rather than each country import bananas from Costa Rica. Just makes it easier for all of Europe to get them.

 

Quasi molestiae nihil omnis alias. Magni aspernatur velit officia incidunt. Adipisci sit cum non atque fugit. Necessitatibus voluptatum aut numquam ut quaerat quas. Numquam non mollitia illo velit. Architecto repudiandae odio consequatur et.

Rem magni voluptatem vitae ut dolores. Possimus ad qui dolores sequi qui accusantium occaecati. Omnis molestiae odit aut magnam qui odit aut eveniet. Et velit fugit sequi et numquam officiis dolor ut.

Career Advancement Opportunities

May 2024 Consulting

  • Bain & Company 99.4%
  • McKinsey and Co 98.9%
  • Boston Consulting Group (BCG) 98.3%
  • Oliver Wyman 97.7%
  • LEK Consulting 97.2%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

May 2024 Consulting

  • Bain & Company 99.4%
  • Cornerstone Research 98.9%
  • Boston Consulting Group (BCG) 98.3%
  • McKinsey and Co 97.7%
  • Oliver Wyman 97.2%

Professional Growth Opportunities

May 2024 Consulting

  • Bain & Company 99.4%
  • McKinsey and Co 98.9%
  • Boston Consulting Group (BCG) 98.3%
  • Oliver Wyman 97.7%
  • LEK Consulting 97.2%

Total Avg Compensation

May 2024 Consulting

  • Partner (4) $368
  • Principal (25) $277
  • Director/MD (55) $270
  • Vice President (47) $246
  • Engagement Manager (100) $226
  • Manager (152) $170
  • 2nd Year Associate (158) $140
  • Senior Consultant (331) $130
  • 3rd+ Year Associate (108) $130
  • Consultant (588) $119
  • 1st Year Associate (539) $119
  • NA (15) $119
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (146) $115
  • Engineer (6) $114
  • 2nd Year Analyst (345) $103
  • Associate Consultant (166) $98
  • 1st Year Analyst (1049) $87
  • Intern/Summer Associate (190) $83
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (552) $67
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
3
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
kanon's picture
kanon
98.9
6
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
7
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
8
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
9
Linda Abraham's picture
Linda Abraham
98.8
10
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”