According to the Volkskrant, the banana box is on the decline. Dutch fruit importers were to start a pilot program in 2018 to replace the cardboard banana boxes with re-usable, collapsible plastic crates. In three years 10% of the five million boxes that are imported annually, can be replaced with the crates.
Hans Maagendans, from the ripening company Banafood Service in Straelen, Germany, does not believe that the banana sector will embrace this switch in the short term, "Replacing five million boxes in the Dutch market would require inventory to be six times what it is. That brings a big financial burden with it."
"In Germany people have been working on this for a while now and IFCO has carried out pilot programs here in Germany, but the development has not yet been put through. There are so many sides that play a role, and it begins with the ripening of the product. With the current ripening technique the banana is protected against drying out in the cardboard box and the optimal humidity can be created in this box. In addition, bananas are less protected in plastic than in cardboard; plastic causes more damage to the fruit. Also, in the warehouses the cardboard banana boxes are sometimes thrown, this would have a negative effect on the plastic."
"I understand that the crate supplier would like to see this happen, but on a large scale, introducing the plastic crates will have a high price tag. I think it would be wise if people first did some research at specialized ripening companies to see what the consequences would be on the product itself. It would lead to huge inventory. A packaging price would also have to be paid. In addition, many bananas are still sold by wholesalers and market traders, I wonder if they are behind the plastic crates," says Hans. Almost all the banana companies are busy working with the plastic crates, but they are not solely using them yet, and there is a reason for that."
"Of course, the sustainability aspect is important, but there are more sides that contribute to sustainability, such as the plantations themselves. Personally, I believe it would be much more efficient to create one plastic banana pallet size for the entire industry, rather than creating all different sizes of wooden pallets. Remember also that banana boxes are rarely used only once, they have a second function at the grocery store, on the market or for other purposes."
Frits Popma reaction
"The point is: there is no crate that meets all the needs of the market," says adviser Frits Popma. "I have been working on this since 2011 with various firms. People forget that the crate has multiple functions; it must comply with the ease of packing and unpacking the bananas, it must have good qualities so it can be transported and it has to provide the proper ripeness. And to my knowledge there is no crate that meets all these requirements."
