The Dominican Republic highly benefits from the export of this fruit, and last year it exported bananas totalling nearly 9.
Banana cultivation provides lots of rural labor due to its labor intensive nature. In the Dominican Republic , the banana industry is the second largest employer, following only the government. The sector provides jobs for 6, farmers and employs people at boxing plants. They were better fruits since there were no severe diseases affecting them. But since this country experienced the Panama disease, a fungal disease, the production of bananas in Panama have been greatly reduced.
In , Peru exported over 61 million pounds of bananas to the US. However, the production of bananas in this country are associated with many problems which significantly challenge the workers on the plantations.
The workers have to toil for long hours in tropical conditions to care for the plants and their harvest. Nicaragua exports a larger portion of its bananas to the US and last year it exported bananas totalling over 87 million pounds. However, some of the pesticides sprayed on banana plantations in this country have continued to raise controversy and some alleged illnesses. The development of railroads and technological advances in refrigerated maritime transport subsequently enable bananas to become the most traded fruit in the world.
Bananas are grown in more than countries, and million tonnes of fruit are produced each year. Bananas which are grown for local consumption are generally grown in traditional, extensive systems.
The Dessert banana, like the Cavendish variety, are of huge economic importance to many countries in the Global South, and they account for 43 million tonnes. Locally consumed bananas are a staple food in many tropical countries and play a major role in terms of food security. People often assume that the banana fruit grows on trees, however, the banana is a high herb which can grow up to 15 metres. There are over different varieties of bananas growing around the world, subdivided into 50 groups.
Some are sweet, like the Cavendish variety, which is the most common and most widely exported. Bananas are one of the most consumed and cheapest fruits worldwide: they are the most traded fruit and the fifth most traded agricultural product. Bananas constitute a significant portion of the export revenues for many Latin American and Caribbean countries.
According to the FAO and the Ecuador government, the banana industry generates about 2 million direct and indirect jobs in the country. At the height of the Windward Islands industry, it was estimated that up to sixty cents in every dollar circulating in the fragile island economy of Dominica were generated by banana production. They are an essential source of income and employment for many households, as well as being a source of nutrition and food security for more than million people in producer countries.
The largest producer India exports almost nothing, whilst Brazil exports very little, keeping bananas for the domestic market. Bananas are also emblematic of the growing power of supermarkets along global supply chains and of the wide range of injustices present in international trade today, including unacceptable working and living conditions for many who grow and harvest the bananas, the suppression of independent trade unions and a unfair sharing of profits along the chain.
There are also failures to respect decent health and safety standards, and the evidence of the devastation caused to human health and the natural environment by toxic chemicals and intensive monoculture plantation production is increasingly evident.
Some scientists believe that the latest disease threat to the industry from Fusarium TR4 is caused by a failure to manage soil properly. Banana Value Breakdown. Banana plants are often mistaken for trees or palms — they are actually herbs. The banana is a perennial plant that replaces itself. Bananas do not grow from a seed but from a bulb or rhizome, and it takes 9 to 12 months from sowing a banana bulb to harvesting the fruit.
The banana flower appears in the sixth or seventh month. Unlike other fruit like apples which have a growing season, bananas are available all year round. Most bananas exported are grown within 30 degrees either side of the equator. The plants need rich, dark and fertile soils with steady moisture in the air and ground and good drainage. Banana plantations are predominantly found in Latin America. They require huge investment in infrastructure and technology for transport, irrigation, drainage and packing facilities.
On the other hand, in the Eastern Caribbean, farmers tend to use smallholder production. This system is less capital intensive and more labour intensive, and is present because the physical features of the area mean it is not possible to use the plantation system. Growing bananas is, in general, labour intensive. It involves clearing jungle growth, propping of the plants to counter bending from the weight of the growing fruit, and irrigation in some regions.
However, it — along with other threats such as the fungal disease black sigatoka — could certainly devastate banana crops and drive up retail prices of the fruit in coming years. The era of the cheap banana, more than a century long, might not last forever.
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Reddit Pocket Flipboard Email. How bananas went from exotic delicacy to America's favorite fruit Bananas for sale on a street cart, circa , when the fruit was still a curiosity in the US. Library of Congress Virtually all of the cheap foods we find in the supermarket today — think potatoes, eggs, or ground beef — are the products of finely tuned, highly industrialized agricultural systems geared toward mass production.
Bananas are boxed in a United Fruit Company warehouse in Another big reason bananas are so cheap: We've totally standardized them Every banana is an exact clone. Richards The standardization of the Cavendish has allowed agribusinesses to grow bananas for low cost and for shoppers to become accustomed to cheap bananas.
Delivered Fridays. Thanks for signing up! Check your inbox for a welcome email. Email required. By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Notice and European users agree to the data transfer policy. For more newsletters, check out our newsletters page. The two lowest "hands" of fruit are removed to ensure that the bananas get enough nutrition to grow to size.
As the fruit matures, each bunch needs more support and cushioning. Newspaper, plastic, or other materials are layered between the bunches to protect them. About eleven weeks after flowering, the fruit is ready for harvest. The sample is sliced vertically down the middle and fruit color and consistency are inspected. If the fruit is too yellow or dehydrated the fruit is past harvest and not suitable for export.
If the sample is good, the entire step is removed from the plant. It is lowered to the ground and taken to the cable leading to the packing station.
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