The future of bananas has generated a bunch of excitement. And the above song lyric may very well be prophetic: Yes - banana export is a four billion dollar a year industry that is seriously threatened by a wind borne disease called Black Sigatoka; No - Sigatoka is not the end of the banana, but perhaps the end of the supermarket variety known as the Cavendish. Some say rumors regarding the Banana's demise are exaggerated, other experts think not. The problem with the banana is each Cavendish is genetically identical. They are sweet, yellow, easy to peel and sterile, and this lack of genetic diversity puts them at risk of extinction. Banana growers must also contend with other diseases such as cigar-end rot, fusarium wilt and bunchy-top virus. How will that affect banana lovers? The average American eats 26 pounds of the fruit a year. Which seems like a simple snack when to compared to other parts of the world. In some countries of Africa each person consumes 45 pounds a month. For those in other countries the future of banana is of grave concern. Banana production is the fourth most economically important food export in the world next to wheat, rice and corn. There are over 180 varieties of banana including plantains, which are important in cooking in many countries, but the Cavendish remains king. In California, rare fruit growers are producing many tasty varieties of the fruit including, Lady Finger, Cuban Red, Gros Michel, Ice Cream and others. While the demise of the Cavendish banana may or may not be exaggerated, one thing for sure is the banana has an exciting future. Yes we have many other new and tasty bananas to try.
The future of bananas has generated excitement gang. And that song lyric may be prophetic:
Banana snack industry goes stale
Not so long ago, the Central Java town of Majenang was famous for being the home of sale pisang, a unique snack made with bananas, but recently the market changed and the local snack industry faded to a fraction of its former success.
Majenang, one of 23 districts in Cilacap regency in the far west of the province - bordering with Banjar and Ciamis regencies in West Java - has about 30 small factories producing the snack.
Before the 1998 economic crisis, there were around 100 such producers, leading Cilacap administration to come up with the idea of making the snack the icon of Majenang.
But with the crisis, the plan hit snags and many cottage industries were forced out of business. More than a decade later, the situation has yet to improve.
"Before the crisis I could sell 2 or 3 tons of fried banana sweets to Jakarta. But things are difficult now," Yayat, a 61-year-old sale pisang business owner, told The Jakarta Post in Majenang.
Today, Yayat produces only about 200 kilograms of sale pisang a month, and 99 percent of this is sold in Majenang. The snacks are sold in 250-gram packages, each costing around Rp 25,000 (US$2).
Another snack producer, Juremi, said that before the crisis she could send 2 tons of sale pisang to Jakarta, Bandung and Surabaya each month.
"Now we only sell sale pisang for the local market," the 60-year-old said.
Juremi said most of the snack producers were struggling to survive.
"What's important is that business survives. If there are buyers in the city, that's enough. Sometimes we get an order from outside the city, but this is unreliable," she said.
"Once, a distributor from outside the city wanted to place an order, but the price he offered was too low to cover our production costs. Rather than suffering losses, we preferred not to take it."
Making sale pisang does not take long. Ripe bananas are cut into slices and dried in the sun.
"If the sun is bright, the bananas will dry out in two days. But in a rainy season like this, it takes about four days," Juremi said.
The dried bananas are then smeared with flour and deep-fried. After being drained, the banana chips are ready to be packaged and sold.
The sale pisang business has supported many, including farmers and traders who sell raw bananas to cottage industries in Majenang, as well as banana snack makers such as Juremi and Yayat, and the vendors.
Majenang district head, Heru Susedyo, said he was aware of the stagnant business situation.
"Sale pisang was once so popular that the Cilacap administration planned to make it the icon of Majenang city, but the plan could not be realized because sales keep decreasing."
http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2009/03/06/
Sunday 30 November 2008
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