Author(s): BORGES, A. L.; SOUZA, L. da S.; OLIVEIRA, A. M. G.

Summary: The banana belongs to the family Musa and is grown in most tropical countries. It is an important food consumed world-wide and it can be eaten unripe or ripe, raw or processed (cooked, fried, roasted or processed). The fruit contains vitamins (A, B and C), minerals (calcium, potassium and iron) and has few calories (90 to 120 Kcal/100 g). The fruit is approximately 70% water; the solid material is principally carbohydrates (23 to 32 g/100 g) with little protein (1.0 to 1.3 g/100 g) and fat (0.37 to 0.48/100 g). In 2004, world banana production was approximately 73 million mt. The largest producer was India (23%), followed by Brazil (9%), then China and Ecuador (8% respectively). World production of plantains and bananas was 33 million mt. While the African continent, had the lowest production of plantains per unit area (5.72 mt/ha), it was nevertheless responsible for 70% of this total production. Major producing countries are Uganda (30% of the world production), Columbia (20%) and Rwanda (8%) (FAO, 2006).

Publication year: 2007

Types of publication: Book sections

Unit: Embrapa Cassava & Fruits

Keywords: Banana