Graphic toont de waarde van de Latijns-Amerikaanse bananenproduktie in 2019.
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BUSINESS

Bananenziekte bedreiging voor Latijns-Amerikaanse telers

By Duncan Mil

May 26, 2020 - De schimmelziekte fusariumverwelking teistert de bananenindustrie van
$25 miljard. Een stam bekend als Tropical Race 4 verspreidt zich nu in de
centrale bananenlanden van Latijns-Amerika.

Latin America, together with the Caribbean, accounts for around 80 per cent of world banana exports. As the world’s biggest exporter, Ecuador, which shares a border with Colombia, shipped some $3.3 billion worth of the fruit last year, the equivalent of 3% of the economy.

Currently, fusarium wilt is once again the biggest threat to worldwide banana production. In the 1990s, TR4 occurred in Cavendish variety banana plantations in Indonesia, Malaysia and Taiwan. Since then, TR4 has spread to the neighbouring countries of the Philippines, China, and Australia, as well as more distant locations including Pakistan, India, Oman, Jordan, and Mozambique. TR4 arrived in Colombia late last year.

The fungus infects the roots of the banana plants and grows up through the water-conducting, vascular system of the plant. Eventually, this blocks the water transport of the plant, and the banana plants start wilting before they can set fruits.

Fusarium wilt is not new. It entirely wiped out Gros Michel (Big Mike), the dominant export variety of bananas in the 1950s, but the industry fought back and introduced the Cavendish to consumers.

Sources
PUBLISHED: 26/05/2020; STORY: Graphic News
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