G'day to banana producers, traders and consumers
 

G'day,

New to this forum, I am particularly interested if anyone has experiences with importing bananas from India. As so many other wholesale people we only do the Central-America Cavendish but how about some alternatives?

Re: G'day to banana producers, traders and consumers
 

Affordable freight from India to the western U.S. is by boat. If you have enough pallets for full container-loads, even better. Transit time from port to port is 10 days on average. The challenge is to find fruits that are produced in quantity, are free from pest/disease restrictions, and can withstand the time lapse in shipping.

Re: G'day to banana producers, traders and consumers
 

Thanks,

We are in Europe and get tablegrapes from Nashik in India via the Mumbai-Rotterdam route which takes a little less than 3 weeks. That's not the problem, the problem is: QUALITY, ie no mechanical damage whatsoever, and right maturity.

Re: G'day to banana producers, traders and consumers
 

Yes, 3 weeks is a very long time for bananas, unless they are picked unripe and then gassed at your end. Of course, this defeats the entire purpose of getting a great tasting banana. Specialty bananas are being grown on a small commercial scale in southern France, western Morocco, Israel, and possibly elsewhere near you but that is the extent of my knowledge.

Re: G'day to banana producers, traders and consumers
 

Of course they are ripened at their overseas destination, is there anything unusual about that?

Currently most nor all bananas at European retailers are from Central America and I wonder if someone from e.g. India, which is the largest banana producer in the world, wanted to tap into that market.