Nowadays consumers expect a fresh and appetizing banana at their local supermarket at a low cost
ready to be consumed. The demand for bananas catapulted it as the most traded fruit globally, and the
fourth most traded agricultural product. As a staple and highly important consumer product, banana
producers must make sure to maintain a constant and careful production line to keep the fruit from
getting damaged or ripening before reaching consumers. With advances in science and technology,
banana producers are able to time the ripening stage of the fruit for the ideal time of sale. Shipping all
over the world means some countries receive the fruit days after being picked and in other cases it takes
weeks for the fruit to reach their country of destination. The question now stands, how are producers
able to maintain a banana in perfect condition and control its ripening.
Logistics behind shipping bananas across the world starts at the beginning of the harvesting stage. Back
at the plantations, bananas must be harvested green and unripened which opens a window of about 3
to 4 weeks before they ripen, giving plenty of room for them to reach their intended destination. Once
harvested bananas are taken from the plantation to the processing plant where they are cut into
bunches according to the needed specification, washed thoroughly, and boxed up ready to be shipped in
containers. The banana boxes are then packed into shipping containers which are then transported to
the departure port. Inside the containers the banana boxes must be placed in a specific way to avoid the
refrigerated containers from affecting the fruit or not working properly. Any void floor space must be
covered inside the containers, banana boxes must not be packed completely up unto the ceiling such as
there is space for air to flow above, and there must not be space between the cargo and side walls.
Bananas need a special type of container for shipment as they are highly delicate to temperature.
Therefore, each banana container must be climate controlled with the optimal temperature to maintain
the fruit from ripening to quickly and getting damaged. This allows bananas to get transported for weeks
without an issue, arriving to consumers hands all over the world with a perfect look and taste.
Containers are then inspected at the port to make sure the contents and conditions are up to the
standards, and if every condition is met, they are then sealed ready to be placed in the ship.
In most cases, if a problem arises during the sea transport that can be attributed to the shipping
company itself, they will pay compensations to the suppliers, such problems can be power outages for
example. To prevent many issues and ensuring that the cargo reached the post of destination in perfect
conditions the shipping companies implement systems such as the Remote Container Management, that
can multiple data sets of the containers such as location, power status, temperature, humidity,
ventilation, and many more variables.
Once they reach their destination port each banana container must be inspected to assess the state of
the bananas inside of it. The inspection that takes place consists of temperature checks, peeling a
banana to check its inside state, inspecting the flesh color, and the texture.
After inspection, and if every condition is met, bananas are taken to pressurized rooms which force air
through the banana boxes uniformly for consisting ripening. These rooms are temperate controlled and
ethylene is used, both of these factors are modified to ripen the banana specifically to the needs of the
consumer.
Pre-shipment stage, shipping the bananas themselves, and post-shipment stage warrants many checks
and meeting specific conditions to avoid damaging the fruit. Such damages un pre-shipment can include
lack of age control which usually occurs when the fruit is harvested at a wrong date or delays happened
during the processing stages. Insufficient disease control and fungicide treatment at packing stations
which can cause the fruit to go bad as it is being transported. Poor sanitary conditions and improper
handling can also damage the fruit itself, such as packing the fruit in the wrong way or handling it
without care. Damages that can occur during the shipping itself include temperature problems, storm
damage, and delays in transit. Temperate problems can arise from several causes which include
improper maintenance of the equipment, lack of control over the live temperature readouts, and faulty
equipment. Improper temperature can damage the fruit or ripen the banana too quickly. Storm damage,
a very common occurrence during weather storms at sea can cause massive damage to the bulk of the
shipment, therefore insurance is always mandatory during banana shipments. Common storm damage
includes fruit damage as the boxes tumble around the container, damage of the container itself
affecting the temperature inside or the cargo. Delays are a great concern as well as a simple couple-day
delay can cause the banana to reach its intended destination at an unwanted stage of ripening and
possibly affect the final sales. After the bananas have reached their port of destination other types of
problems can occur such as inland transport issues, excessive storage period, and improper ripening.
As time and technology has advanced the shipping process of bananas has become a very precise and
understood science. If every check and condition is correctly done then bananas can reach every single
part of the world without an issue, ready to be consumed by the final buyers. Such conditions as packing
the banana the right way in containers, and ripening them correctly in the pressurized rooms is essential
for a consistent look and taste. Bananas will remain a staple product in the majority of countries all
around the world thanks to the great amount of work and thought that is introduced during the shipping
process.