Bananas and plantain are very important fruit crops in the tropical world. They grown largely by smallholders and play a major role of food security and income generation for million of the region’s rural poor worldwide.
Banana and plantains are perennial crops that grow quickly and can be harvested all year round, they were cultivated on an area of some 9 million hectares in year 2000; world production average 92 million tons per annum in 1998 – 2000 and was estimated at 99 million tones in 2001.
From 1992 to 2006 global exports increased from 10.7 million tons to 16.789 million tons.
Musa production is growing faster than that of other starchy staples and increase in production has occurred in all regions.
At the global yields of bananas and plantains have increase from 8.97 t/ha in 1970 to 16.46 t/ha per year in 2000.
As of the year 2000 there were 4.1 million hectares devoted to banana production worldwide including Brazil - 521, 285 hectares, India – 490,000, and Philippines – 383 387 hectares.
It is estimated that world banana production increased by 30 percent over the 1990s, mainly as a result of rising Cavendish output.
Total value of international banana trade ranges between US$4.5 and 5 billion per year.
Banana is an important crop in the three major regions, Asia, Latin America and Africa.
In 2009, India led the world in banana production, representing approximately 28% of the worldwide crop, mostly for domestic consumption.
World Production trends of banana
