Banana
Banana is one of the oldest food crops. For many tropical countries, it is the most important food product and the main export item. Banana fruits have a high nutritional value, contain a large amount of vitamins and trace elements.
Ecuador is the world's main exporter of bananas. According to the research of the IndexBox company, its share in global shipments exceeds 18%. In spite of the fact that most bananas are grown in India (25%), most of them remain on the domestic market.
Ripe bananas are a popular product in many countries of the world. Russia is one of the world's three largest importers of bananas (after the USA and China). In our country, bananas are bought almost as often as potatoes. According to GfK, in 2020, Russian families bought these tropical fruits on average 13 times, potatoes – 14 times, carrots – about 9. Together with apples and citrus bananas are among the top 3 most popular fruits in Russia, accounting for about 70% of total consumption.
Absolutely all bananas are imported to Russia from South America. According to RBC, 96% of imports (1.46 million tons) in 2020 fell on Ecuador. Only 52 thousand tons were imported from Costa Rica, Colombia and Guatemala in the same year.
The range of the Royal Fresh company includes Cavendish bananas from Costa Rica, Ecuador and Guatemala. The supply season is year–round.
country | variety | class | size | packaging |
---|---|---|---|---|
Ecuador |
Cavendish |
1 class | Cardboard box 19.4 kg (net weight)/ 20.6 kg (gross weight) | |
Guatemala |
Cavendish |
1 class | Cardboard box 19.4 kg (net weight)/ 20.6 kg (gross weight) | |
Costa Rica |
Cavendish |
1 class | Cardboard box 19.4 kg (net weight)/ 20.6 kg (gross weight) |
Beneficial features:
THE NUTRITIONAL VALUE | MICROELEMENTS (100g): | VITAMINS (100 g): |
---|---|---|
Fats – 0.5g |
Potassium –348 mg |
A – 20 mcg |
Varieties:
Today, about 500 varieties of bananas are known, which are divided into three subtypes: dessert, platano (or plantano – culinary), decorative with inedible fruits.
However, mainly only three varieties are delivered to Russia, which are best tolerate for transportation. Bananas for export are plucked green, after that they undergo special processing and ripen.
- "Cavendish" is a group of varieties whose fruits reach from 15 to 25 cm in length. When the fruit is ripe, the peel of Cavendishes is yellow, with small brown inclusions.
- "Finger" bananas (or baby bananas) - such fruits do not exceed 10 cm in length, they are sweeter and differ by a thinner peel.
- Red bananas are smaller in size than classic ones, the taste is more intense, with raspberry notes. The content of beta-carotene is increased in the peel – hence the unusual color.