
Bananas (Musa spp.) are one of the most produced and consumed fruits globally and the fifth most traded agricultural product. With more than 1000 types of bananas known, a small number are grown as a staple food crop or fresh market commodity. The Cavendish variety accounts for 47% of global production, making it the most commercialised banana grown worldwide, with approximately 50 billion tons produced annually. The banana industry plays an important role both economically, employing 400 000 people in Latin America and the Caribbean alone, and socially, as a staple food in many developing countries within Africa and worldwide.
