Bananas

In 1870, a strange fruit became a novelty purchase in New York food markets. By 1904, bananas had become the most popular fruit in the United Kingdom, and growing demand for bananas in North America and Europe lay the foundation for profound and ongoing environmental and social impacts in producer countries. Bananas, whether eaten raw (dessert bananas) or cooked (plantains), belong to the genus Musa. Up to a dozen bunches of fruit grow in one year from the single stalk of a fleshy plant often mistaken for a tree. The hundreds of cultivated banana varieties are sterile hybrids derived from two wild species native to Southeast Asia. Lacking viable seed, domesticated Musa are propagated by felling the stem to allow new shoots to grow from the rootstock. This process may go on indefinitely, or shoots can be transplanted to minimize soil depletion and maintain yields.

Bananas are rich in carbohydrates and nutrients (including potassium, phosphorus, calcium, and Vitamin C). A hectare of well-managed plants on rich soil can yield some 16,000 kilograms of fruit per year under hot, wet conditions. Their ease of cultivation, high yield, year-round productivity, and versatility of preparation have long made bananas attractive to people living in the tropics. The crop had spread from South Asia to Africa and the Mediterranean via Arabian land routes by at least 1 c.e., and was known throughout West Africa by the 15th century. In 1516, Spanish friars brought plants from the Canary Islands to the modern-day Dominican Republic. The banana proved so popular among tropical America's native peoples that its cultivation often diffused faster than the pace of European exploration. In 2006, millions of small farmers in 122 countries grew bananas—typically interplanted with other crops on small plots—for consumption, as livestock feed, and to supply regional markets. Approximately 80 percent of all bananas grown are eaten in the country of origin, with the highest levels of consumption in Brazil, India, the Philippines, Burundi, Indonesia, and China.

About 20 percent of global production is destined for export. In 2003, Latin American and Caribbean countries, dominated by Ecuador, supplied 80 percent of world exports, with the Philippines, Cameroon, and Ivory Coast accounting for most of the remainder. The top global banana importers were the United States, the European Union, Japan, and Russia. In 2000, total international trade was estimated at $4 billion, and was dominated by a handful of companies.

Production methods for export bananas vary. In Ecuador and the Caribbean, for example, bananas are often contract-farmed by small producers on plots rarely exceeding 50 hectares; planting stock and agrochemicals are provided on credit by a banana company. In Central America, multinationals own or rent vast tracks of land, often at favorable rates. These plantations are effectively run as enclave economies. Laborers are housed and fruit is processed on-site; company-owned facilities are also used in subsequent sea transport, ripening, storage, and distribution. As a result of this vertical integration and economies of scale, most bananas go from harvest to supermarket shelves in less than one month.

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