Bananas don’t grow in every country, but they are ubiquitous nonetheless. As the world’s most popular fruit, they account for roughly 75 percent of the tropical fruit trade and more than a hundred billion are eaten annually. Getting ripe bananas to market is a surprisingly intricate process. Facilities unique to the industry control the ripening stage to ensure bananas are the ideal green or yellow when they reach stores, depending on consumer preference. —Kelsey Nowakowski

THE BANANA PLANT

Grown in tropical and subtropical areas around the world, bananas are botanically classified as a berry. The word banana stems from the Arabic word “banan,” meaning finger.

Is It a Tree?

The banana plant is the largest herbaceous flowering plant.

Unlike seasonal fruits, bananas grow year-round and are plentiful.

COUNTRIES GROW

It takes nine months to grow a complete bunch, up to 170 bananas.

(10 feet)

VARIETIES

KING OF FRUITS

As the world’s most consumed fruit, bananas are a dietary staple. Bananas are the world’s most exported fruit, but they’re popular at home too: Eighty-five percent are produced for domestic consumption.

Annual Fruit Production In millions of metric tons

WORLD BANANA CONSUMPTION In millions of metric tons

86

114

Bananas

Watermelons

Apples

Grapes

Oranges

Coconuts

IN INDIA, CHINA, BRAZIL, AND INDONESIA

Mangoes

Plantains

These countries consume most of their production so they are not among the top exporters.

FIVE PER DAY

Tangerines/ mandarins

Rwanda consumes the most per capita, 279 kg (616 lbs) a year, versus 12 kg (26 lbs) in the U.S.

Other melons

Though plantains belong to same genus as bananas, the crops are counted separately.

Consumption data refers to food supply, the amount of bananas available.

A Banana's Journey

Advances in refrigerated transportation helped bananas become the world’s most traded fruit. Many supermarkets price them at or near cost—called a loss leader—to get customers into their stores.

A CASE STUDY FROM ECUADOR TO NEW YORK CITY, UNITED STATES

of WORLD exports

of WORLD IMPORTS

TOP EXPORTER

TOP IMPORTER

Value of a Dollar's Worth of Bananas

Supply Chain Stages

Grown on large farms, banana bunches are cut down while still green by workers using machetes. The Cavendish variety is the most widely cultivated type.

plantation workers

plantation owner

Once harvested, the bananas are transported to packing sheds, where they are inspected, washed, and boxed for export.

To prevent them from ripening in transit, pallets of bananas are shipped in refrigerated containers.

international trade

Container ships pass through the Panama Canal en route to Wilmington, Delaware, which handles about a million tons of bananas a year, the busiest “banana port” in the U.S., and second globally only to Antwerp, Belgium.

When the bananas arrive in port, they clear customs and are trucked to special facilities, where a ripening process is closely monitored (detail below).

ripening and distribution

Bananas are delivered to regional distribution centers and wholesalers before being sent to supermarkets and bodegas.

TO MARKET

Bodegas sell individual yellow bananas, ready to eat, while larger stores prefer slightly green "hands" that can last for days.

The Art of Ripening

Ripeners are scientific specialists in the banana supply chain. Their facilities feature high-tech rooms that control ventilation, humidity, temperature, and ethylene gas, a natural ripening chemical.

A typical 5-day schedule

GAS

To start the ripening process, ethylene gas is pumped into the room. A normal chemical by-product of ripening fruits, the gas circulates throughout the room overnight.

Green bananas are tested for temperature and color before being placed in a consistently ventilated room that's kept at 70 to 90 percent relative humidity. Bananas ripen at 60 to 70 degrees.

A BANANA'S NATURAL ETHYLENE CAN RIPEN OTHER PRODUCE AND EVEN SPOIL SOME SENSITIVE TO THE GAS.

The fruit is ready to ship to retailers. Bananas ideally ship to stores around stage three (chart below). While in transit, the fruit continues to ripen.

Ethylene gas is flushed out of the room, which is then ventilated with fresh air and kept at 60 to 62 degrees. The fruit is still green, but now has been triggered to ripen.

The fruit is still green but begins to “break” and transition in color. A specialist closely monitors the fruit, waiting for a faint yellow hue to be visible throughout.

TEMPERATURE SERVES AS AN ALARM CLOCK, WAKING UP A BANANA.

THE COLOR CHART

The industry uses a seven-stage standard to chart ripening.

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

edible bananas are tossed each day in Great Britain.

RIPENERS GET BANANAS

BIG STORES AND DISTRIBUTORS

Some view spotted bananas as spoiled, but that’s when they’re sweetest. In many countries, bananas are the most wasted fruit.

FINAL CONSUMERS

GREEN CONSUMERS

Some prefer green bananas, which are less sweet, and cook them.

AN UNCERTAIN FUTURE

The Cavendish banana variety may follow in the footsteps of the once popular “Gros Michel,” which disappeared in the 1950s after a fungal epidemic.

CURRENT RANGE OF TR4 FUNGUS STRAIN

OF COMMERCIALLY SOLD BANANAS ARE CAVENDISH VARIETY

The banana variety is seedless and therefore must be cloned by farmers.

BANANA PRODUCING COUNTRIES

Growing Pains

NEXT GENERATION

The Cavendish variety was chosen because it’s resistant to fungus, but genetic uniformity makes it more vulnerable, and a new fungus strain, TR4, is damaging Asian crops and quickly spreading.

Monocropping—growing the bananas on the same land year after year—is cost-effective for the farmer, but it also depletes soil and makes a crop susceptible to pests, which can more easily spread.

Scientists are studying the banana's genetic material in an attempt to engineer a more disease-resistant one. Many wild varieties are not suitable for the export process—and most palates.