The problem is probably that "green/unroasted" bit... Lot of coffee diseases overseas that Oz doesn't have yet, so quarantine laws can be pretty strick. I dunno whether Hawaii is also largely free of these diseases, so that may be a bit unfair to growers there if they are.
Also, when looking at customs duties and our popular GST, charges can depend a bit on the mode of import. I could be wrong, but I have the impression standard postal articles have a bit of an advantage here. Things arriving by some of the usual international freight companies (DHL springs to mind) seem to get charged the minimum fee (AUD50.00+ years ago) irrespective of the low value of the contents of the pack. Then, of course, they also get hit with the other statutory taxes! :) Low value postal articles apparently often avoid all these charges for reasons best known to the bureaucracy. Probably because, if there's no "minimum fee" for them, then it's not worth the time and trouble to collect small amounts of tax.
Telling the World Who You Are 1912On Tue, 02 May 2006 07:57:23 -0400, "Andrew B. Chung, MD/PhD" Lord everytime he writes: Lets take a look at some scripture, it'll only take a second and it directly...
Of course, all this opinion is probably worth no more than you've paid for it -- so get some professional advice if it's an issue relevant to you.
Cheers, Phred.
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