Bananas are among the oldest fruits in human history and still among the most popular. The Greeks began eating bananas brought from Africa more than four thousand years ago. Bananas are now popular around the world because they are sweet and delicious in flavor. They also are nutritious and rich in vitamins, protein, phosphorus and iron. Areas of high temperatures and high humidity are most suitable for banana culture, including large sections of Taiwan. The total plantations cover more than 12,000 hectares (30,000 acres), mostly around Kaohsiung and Pingtung. The annual Taiwan banana production is about 230,000 tons with more than fifty per cent exported. Japan and Hong Kong are the largest importers. Bananas earn more than US$24,000,000 foreign exchange per year for the Republic of China.
The Taiwan Provincial Fruit Marketing Cooperative is responsible for the production and sale of bananas in Taiwan. It has launched such measures as planned production and sales, contract plantation, a guaranteed price system and a banana equalization fund. These all are aimed at protecting the profits of banana growers and stimulating production. The Cooperative has established 260 banana stock centers. In these centers, bananas collected from the fields pass through such processes as cutting, cleaning, selection, inspection, grading, weighing and packing. Then they are transported for domestic or export sales. Most of the banana stock centers are reinforced concrete buildings, each covering about one hundred pings (3,600 square feet). The buildings are well-equipped, with part of the packing equipment automatic.
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