The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1911-04-27
THE BANANA HABIT GROWING.

Four thousand million bananas were i'm
ported into the United States in the
year 1910. The banana habit is a grow
ing one in the United States. In the
early eighties the value of bananas i'm
ported, according to the figures of the
Bureau of Statistics of the Department
of Commerce and Labor, ranged between
one and two million dollars per annum;
by 1890 the value had increased to IL
million dollars, in the fiscal year of 1900
to nearly million dollars; and in the cal
endar year 1910. to practically IL IL mil
lion dollars. The rapid growth in this
class of importations led the Bureau of
Statistics few years ago to call upon
collectors of customs for the quantity as
well as the value imported, and the fig
ures of quantities, beginning with the
year 1908, showed for that year IS "a
million punches; in 1909, 80 IL million;
and in 1910, a little over 40 million
punches were imported. Assuming that
these average 100 bananas to the bunch,
figure which the importers state to be
a conservative estimate, the total num-
Der imported in 1910 would aggregate
approximately 1000 million bananas.
The value of the bananas imported in
the last decade aggregates in round
terms 100 million dollars. In the calen-
dar wear 1901 the total value of bananas
imported was ga million dollars; in
1905. 9 3-4 million; in 1907, II 3-4 million;
and in 1910, 121-2 million. These figures
of the values of bananas imported are
the valuation at wholesale prices in the
countries from which exported to the
United States, and the average price
per bunch was 81 cents, as will be read
ily seen by dividing the 40, 1872, 95S
punches imported in 1910 into the stated
value Of So, 43333 , 1874. How much money
is paid by consumers in the United
States for bananas cannot be estimated
with accuracy, though the cost OF
freight, and the profits of importers,
wholesalers and retailers must add very
materially to the Il IL million dollars
-DaIa for them in the countries OF produc-
tor.
Central America and the West Indies
are the chief sources Of supply of the ba-
nanas imported into the United States.
Of the 10 million lunches imported in
the calendar year 1910, p million We're
from Central America; 10 l-2 million
from the British West Indies; 2 IL mil
Ion from South America, principally Co.
umbia and Dutch Guiana; 2 million from
Cuba: and about l million from other
countries. Costa RIGA is the largest
source of supply in Central America,
Honduras second, and Panama third, and
Jamaica is the largest source of supply
in the West Indian Islands. The United
States is the worlds largest importer of
bananas. The United Kingdom is the
next largest importer, her imports OF
this article in the calendar year 1909
being Ia million punches, as against
80 - million punches imported into the
SnlIeQ states IN tne Same year.
Practically the entire banana supply of
the United States comes from abroad.
Efforts have been made from time to
time to develop the banana industry in
the extreme south and in California, but
the domestic production is inconsiderable
when compared with the importation.
The banana, while probably a native Of
India, is now grown in practically all
tropical countries, and among consid-
cradle part of the human race ranks as
high as do cereal grains among the peo-
pie of the temperate zones, and it is said
to produce more food upon given area
than wheat. The consumption of ba-
nanas in temperate zone countries has
increased enormously in recent years.
They are used chiefly in the natural state
out in smaller quantities in the form of
banana -four made from ripe fruit.
Small quantities of this flour are import
ed into the United States but in such in
considerable amounts that the Bureau of
Statistics has not up to this time found
it advisable to separately enumerate it
among articles imported.