The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1905-01-24
BIG MONEY
IN BANANAS

A corporation engaged In the banana
business in Honduras, as far by sea
from the United States as Hawaii is
from the mainland. has sent out a cir
cular seeking to interest investors In
its enterprise. Naturally. In a circular
like that. there is little said OF the
drawbacks of the business, neverthe-
less there Is much in the circular that
might furnish food for thought to Ha-
walians. What is done In Honduras
with success can without doubt be bet.
ter done in this Territory. where the
climate is incomparably better The
circular says:
Very few people, outside of the fruit
trade, realize how easily bananas are
grown and how large a profit they
yield. Not many years ago the banana
itself was almost unknown in the
United States. Three or four years ago
the banana was a rarity i'm Europe;
and even now, the consumption in Doth
countries is a trifie compared with
what it will be in a few years.
A small number of punches We're
/ shipped to Europe as an experiment in
1880. Their delicious taste was appre-
ciated, they were eagerly bought and
larger shipments were soon made. IT,
day a fleet of more than one hundred
and fifty steamers is engaged in car
| rying bananas from Central. America
to the United States and Europe. and
recently refrigerator service has been
| installed on the steamers, to insure
better fruit and avoid over-ripening in
transit.
The following from a recent Issue of
the Newcastle (England) Chronicle,
shows consumption of bananas in Eu-
rope:
within the last few days there has
been such a run i'm the markets upon
the banana that one firm of importers
has been enabled to make a recorl IN
prices by selling Canary fruit ut as
high az twenty shillings (about $50, a
bunch. Notwithstanding the increased
arrivals during recent years the de-
mand for best fruit still exceeds the
supply, and there is every prospect OF
choice grades of Canary bananas, max
ing even 25s. (about $6.25) AMI sos
(about $3.50 a bunch. Such prices AS
rule to-day would have been consii-
! tItu lihpOooiblt Wy tht iiOoI tNITil-
enced dealers five years ago. i,dnnnas
are surprising tomatoes in popui city
Prices will not decline when the ia.-
ports are doubled and trebled. Fif.e, II
years ago we did not import 5ol O1C
punches from all sources. In 1900 the
arrivals were 1881, 422 punches; in 100.
they had increased to 2,S04,700; in 19Ot
they were represented by 3,1S7,5lt
punches.
I'VE now get quantities of bananas
The planters export over 5,000OO(
bunckes of these fruits year. TIL;
bulk of them, however, goes t. the
United States. During the past weei
over 10000 punches arrived at Man
chester. Bananas are very popular II
the Midland and Northern cities. Tha
is evident for the United Fruit Com
pany sent its first cargo to Bristol II
!, 1902, and it sold so we'll that monthly
service was established, and this was
followed in 1903 by fortnightly ser.
vice. Now that the new fleet of spe'
) cial fruit ships are to ply between the
ports on the West of England and the
West Indies the banana supplies of th'
present year may well be expected t
surpass all previous records. 1t look
as If the total imports will by the clos'
of the year amount to 100000 punches
exceeding the imports of fifteen years
ago by 5,5OeOOO punches.
shippers, colonists, wholesd raec'
chants, retail fruiterers, and stree
L. hawkers alike benefit through the de
velopment of the tropical import frui
trade. The business in which they arr
engaged is one that tends to the gen
eral good of the community. Fruit eat
? ing can hardly be indulged in too much
To the miner and the factory Operative
= cheap supplies of fresh fruit are un
doubtedly of the greatest Importance
The retail fruiterer has done more thai
:. any one to popularize the banana witt
the million. We are paying between
5 e2O,000,000 and e30,00O,000 yearly 70
: fresh fruit imports. OF all the varie'
dainty fruits which reach our port
5 none surpass the banana from a diet
4 etic standpoint. 1t is highly nutrition
: and in this respect has no competitor.
Aside from the foreign market, 1t
), said that sixty million punches a yea
are sold in America alone, and yet thi
: industry is still in its infancy. The de
mand increases with enormous rapid
ity, but nowhere is the supply equs
to the demand. 1t Is food produo
of nearly every home, which Is rapid
ly coming to be classed among necess
4 ties, on account of it's great nutritiv
qualities.
1 Bananas are the most profitable an
the most easily raised of all crops.
Here are some statistics which sho'
the profits on crops of bananas raise
in Honduras compared with the profit
from various crops raised in the Unite
States:
'e * es 9 E