It's a pretty frustrating time for the McCann family with the Fyffes share price still languishing at a pretty low level, despite a very solid set of half-year results and a balance sheet which shows a bucketful of cash for capital investment and acquisitions.

The Fyffes figures this week were in stark contrast to recent gloomy reports from its main US rivals - Dole, Chiquita and Del Monte. So why is Fyffes trading on a two p/e point discount to Dole and Chiquita, both of whom are heavily exposed to the poorly performing US fruit market.

At worst, analysts on this side of the Atlantic believe that Fyffes should be trading on a par with Dole and Chiquita, while Fyffes relative immunity to the EU banana row is one factor that should warrant a premium for the shares over the peers.

Fyffes shares have many attractions at current levels, and the only negative hanging over the shares is the ongoing row with the Americans over access for dollar bananas to the EU market.

Unlike Dole and Chiquita, Fyffes sources its produce from both the dollar and ACP markets, so is well covered whichever way the row is sorted out.

The shares' positives are numerous. The link-up with the South African group Capespan lessens Fyffes' dependency on bananas and gives it two well-established brands in Cape and Outspan.

The final settlement of the EU banana row should see a number of European companies, which had been waiting for the settlement of the dispute, come on the market.

And Fyffes, with a cash pile of £83 million (€105 million) sitting in its balance sheet, is well-placed to spend large amounts of money on a big acquisition.

That cash pile indicates that Fyffes could comfortably spend £500 million on an acquisition, the only question being will any operation of that size come on the market.

Throw in Fyffes's express intention of buying back more shares in the market - it has already spent more than £10 million on buying in more than seven million shares since last September - and there are solid reasons to buy.

There is plenty of upside in the shares, but those prepared to wait for the EU and the Americans to sort out the differences on banana quotas could be well rewarded.