A STUDY OF TAIWAN

Thesis for the Degree of Ma S
MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY
SHIH SHU FAQ
1972

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ABSTRACT

A STUDY OF TAIWAN BANANA PACKAGING

BY

Shih Shu Pao

This study deals with Taiwan banana packaging. The
main purpose of this study is concerned that packaging can
not be a panacea to keep the quality of bananas high without
quality banana fruit, and optimum transportation including
the control of ventilation, humidity, and temperatures in
vehicles in long distance shipment such as from Taiwan to
Japan or the United States.

The fruit is sensitive to temperatures, easily
scarred or abraded, and perishable. The physiological
characteristics of the postharvested fruit are reviewed and
applied. The causes of possible damage to bananas during
shipment are also revealed and discussed.

The evolution of Taiwan banana packaging from
traditional basketing to boxing are deeply dealt with. The
natural environment in Taiwan and the marketing of the
exported bananas in the island are also presented in detail.

In the past decades and until today, the real causes of

Shih Shu Pao

high damage to the shipped bananas have been found out and

their solutions are suggested in this thesis.

A STUDY OF TAIWAN BANANA PACKAGING

BY

Shih Shu PaO

A THESIS

Submitted to
Michigan State University
in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of

MASTER OF SCIENCE

School of Packaging

1972

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Deep felt thanks go to my professors. Foremost
among these are Dr. James W. Goff, Director of the School
of Packaging and my advisor, Dr. Wayne H. Clifford, School
of Packaging, and Dr. Leo G. Erickson, professor of the
Department of Marketing and Transportation Administration.
Also deserving thanks for sponsorship and cooperation
through the length of my Master's program are Vice-Minister
of Economic Affairs, Republic of China, Yen-Tien Chang,
and Director of the Board of Foreign Trade, Ministry of
Economic Affairs, Republic of China, Y. T. Wong.

My wife and my good friends, Fred W. Johnson,
Penny J. Weaver, C. P. Hsieh, and Ronald Su, among others

have supported, encouraged, and assisted me.

ii

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

LIST OF TABLES o o o o o o o o o o o o 0 V

LIST OF P IGURES o o o o o o o o b o o o 0 Vi 1
Chapter

I. INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Purpose of the Study . . . . . . . . 1
Importance of the Study . . . . . . . l
ResearCh O O O O O O O O 0 O O O 2
6

II. THE BANANA INDUSTRY IN TAIWAN. . . . . .

Geographical Characteristics of Taiwan . . 6
Production and Distribution of Bananas . . l4
Banana Packaging in Taiwan . . . . . . 36

III. BANANA PACKAGING IN OTHER BANANA EXPORTING

AREAS O O O O I O O O O , O O O O 4 o
The Packing of a Bunch ofBananas. . . . 40
Packing Hands or Clusters of Banana . . . 43

IV. PHYSIOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF POST-

HARVESTED BANANA FRUIT . . . . . . . 46
Respiration . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Water Relationships . . . . . . . . 52
Gas Relationships . . . . . . . . . 52

V. CAUSES OF POSSIBLE DAMAGE TO BANANAS DURING

SHIPMNT O O O O O O O O O O O O 54
Causes of Premature Ripening . . . . . 54
Chilling O O O O O O O O O O O O 56

iii

Chapter Page

Mechanical Damage . . . . . . . . . 57

Causes of Fungal Wastage. . . . . . . 57

VI. THE EVOLUTION OF TAIWAN BANANA PACKAGING . . 61
VII. CONCLUSIONS. . . . . . . . . . . . 88
BIBLIOGRAPHY. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90

iv

Table

l.

10.

ll.

12.

l3.

14.

LIST OF TABLES

Production and Export of Bananas of Taiwan

Percentage of Banana Product Value in Agri-

cultural Product Value of Taiwan,
1956-1969 a o o o o o o o o 0

Mean Rainfall of Taiwan (in mm.) .. . .

Average Prefectural Banana Production,
1958-1960 0 o o o o o o o o o

Prefectural Banana Production in 1970. .

Average Export Percentage of Bananas to
Japan From Taiwan--by Month, 1956-1970.

Export of Taiwan Bananas-~By Supply Areas,

1954-1970 c o o o o o o o o 0
Exports of Taiwan Bananas--By Destination

Exports of Taiwan Bananas in Percentage--
by Destination. . . . . . . . .

Diseases of the Banana in Storage . . .

Japan's Imported Bananas—-By Origin,
1959-1970 0 o o o o o o o o 0

Percentage of Japan's Imported Bananas--
by Origin, 1959-1970. . . . . . .

Damage Rate of Japan's Import From Taiwan
Bananas, 1966-1970 . . . . . . .

Damage Rate of Japan's Import From Ecuador

Bananas, 1966-1970 c o o o o o o

Page

13

15

16

18

33

37

38

58

69

70

72

73

Table Page

15. Export Quantity to Japan of Taiwan Bananas--

By month, 1965-19700 0 o o o o o o o 74
16. Damage Percentage of Japan's Imports of

Taiwan Bananas, 1956-1968 (Bamboo Baskets) . 78
17. Damage Percentage of Japan's Imports of

Taiwan Bananas, 1969-1970 (Corrugated Boxes) 79
18. Storage Temperatures . . . . . . . . . 81

19. Average Damage Rate of Taiwan Bananas
Exported to Japan--By Ship, 1966—1970. . . 83

20. Average Damage Rate of Taiwan Bananas
Exported to Japan by Ship. . . . . . . 84

21. Average Damage Rate of Taiwan Bananas
Exported to Japan—-By Ship, 1966-1969. . . 85

22. Average Annual Damage Rate of the Banana
Ships 0 I O O O O O O O O O O O 86

vi

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure Page
1. Map of Taiwan (1) . . . . . . . . . . 7
2. Major Regions of Taiwan . . . . . . . . 8
3. Moisture Belts in Taiwan. . . . . . . . 12
4. Collecting Station (Packing House) . . . . 21
5. Primary Classification . . . . . . . ,. 21
6. Washing . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
7. Weighing . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
8. Packing (1) . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
9. Packing (2) . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

10. Inspecting . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
11. Loading on Truck . . . . . . . . . . 24
12. Loading Into the Holds . . . . . . . . 25
13. Map of Taiwan (2) . . . . . . . . . . 28
14. Banana Movement in Taichung. . . . . . . 30
15. Movement of Banana (by Railroad) . . . . . 31
16. The Rate of Respiration . . . . . . . . 48
17. Parts of a Corrugated Linerboard Box. . . . 76

18. Relationship of Damage Rate to Bananas and
the Ships' Age . . . . . . . . . . 87

vii

I. INTRODUCTION

Purpose of the Study

 

The objectives of this study are essentially six
fold. First, it is intended to give some knowledge of the
Taiwan banana trade and its distribution channels in inter-
island and export trade. Secondly, it is intended to
present the historical and contemporary methods of banana
packaging of Taiwan and other banana exporting countries.
Thirdly, it will analyze the distributary environmental
factors that affect the banana's quality. Fourthly, it
makes an effort to summarize the physiological character-
istics of banana fruit post—harvested from the literature.
Fifthly, it will discuss that the accepted corrugated
shipping box is sufficient enough or not to keep banana
quality high during long distance transport. Sixthly, it
also attempts to analyze that the high banana damage rate
is caused by a number of factors such as fruit quality,

distributal conditions, and transport vehicles, etc.

Importance of the Study
Bananas are one of the important items exported

from Taiwan. Total foreign exchange earnings of the Taiwan

banana export from 1964 to 1969, was $324.5 millions* which
accounted for 7.77 per cent of the total foreign exchange
earnings of this period which ranked second in agricultural
export items only under sugar.1 The export foreign exchange
earnings from bananas reached up to $63.7 millions in 1967
which accounted for 9.43 per cent of the total export
foreign exchange earnings for the year. Since 1964, over
60 per cent of total annual banana production in Taiwan has
been exported (Table 1). Annual production value of the
fruit accounted for 48 to 52 per cent of total annual
agricultural production value during the period of 1964 to
1969 (Table 2). However, the export practice is of great
importance to this island because of its island economy.
Therefore, for Taiwan, bananas are one of the main source
of foreign exchange earnings. Likewise, they have played

the main role in Taiwan economic development since 1964.

Research
Because of the nature of this thesis, the majority
of the research was done through readings and analyzing the
data obtained from Taiwan. Such an approach is justified
since this effort was neither of the fact finding nor

experimental variety. Rather it is an attempt in

 

*All monetary figures are in United States dollars.

1International Cooperation for Economic Development
Committee, Taiwan Statistical Data Book (Taiwan: Republic
of China, 1970).

 

TABLE 1

Production and Export of Bananas
of Taiwan

 

 

 

Production Export

(1,000 C/T; (1,000 C/T; Percentage

C/T:l6 kg.) C/T:16 kg.)
1937 14,573 10,525 72.22
1946 3,561 131 3.67
1947 8,290 628 7.57
1948 7,363 1,686 22.89
1949 6,562 842 12.83
1950 7,819 776 9.92
1951 6,667 1,762 26.42
1952 7,124 2,721 38.19
1953 6,407 1,422 22.19
1954 6,534 1,935 29.61
1955 5,645 1,708 30.25
1956 3,913 1,263 32.27
1957 6,164 1,752 28.42
1958 7,418 2,626 35.40
1959 6,965 2,948 42.32
1960 7,614 3,040 39.92
1961 8,645 4,782 55.31
1962 9,392 3,597 38.29
1963 4,166 3,791 91.00
1964 14,724 12,561 85.31
1965 23,158 21,092 91.08
1966 31,442 23,138 73.59
1967 33,597 26,673 79.39
1968 30,754 24,093 78.34
1969 36,570 26,106 71.39
1970 28,039 15,134 53.97

Source: Taiwan Fruit Yearbook, 1971, pp. 1-2.

 

Percentage of Banana Product Value in
Agricultural Product Value of

TABLE 2

 

 

Taiwan, 1956-1969

Agri. Products Bananas Per Cent

(US $1,000) (US $1,000) of Total

1956 19,504 3,146 16.13
1957 28,071 3,827 13.63
1958 39,135 6,245 15.96
1959 38,462 6,599 17.16
1960 18,638 7,135 39.25
1961 30,694 11,072 36.07
1962 30,978 8,630 27.86
1963 48,204 8,974 18.62
1964 68,003 33,468 49.21
1965 116,121 56,331 48.51
1966 112,819 54,714 48.50
1967 121,298 63,673 52.49
1968 109,261 57,162 52.32
1969 122,723 59,231 48.26

 

Source:

Statistical Data Book, Taiwan.

 

application of the reports from the experiments done
previously on banana physiology, and of the methods of
banana packaging having been accepted by other banana
exporting countries to analyze the problem of the Taiwan
banana packaging. The approach taken is first to review
the main functions of a package and the literatures on the
practice of banana packaging and of banana transport. This
was followed by a study of the Taiwan banana packaging case
in the hope of finding the advantages and disadvantages of

the corrugated board box as opposed to bamboo basket.

II. THE BANANA INDUSTRY IN TAIWAN

Geographical Characteristics of Taiwan

Taiwan (also called Formosa historically) consists
of a large main island and a series of dependent islets
around the main one. The geographical position of the
island is as follows: its northerly point lies at 25 deg.
38 min. north latitude, while its southernmost point is
21 deg. 45 min. N. (Figure 1). The most westerly point of
Taiwan is 119 deg. 18 min. east longitude and the eastern-
most 122 deg. 6 min. E. It is situated some 100 miles off
the coast of the China mainland about midway between
Shanghai and Hong Kong. Also, it is the largest island
between Japan and the Philippines. The Tropic of Cancer
bisects the island about 90 miles north of its southern end.
Taiwan (main island) resembles a tobacco leaf in shape and
is about 250 miles long and approximately 90 miles wide at
its broadest point. The area extent of the island and its
dependent islets totals 13,885 square miles.

Taiwan is predominantly mountainous, with more than
two-thirds (approximately 70 per cent) of its area made up
of steep, rugged foothill ranges, valleys, and massive

mountain chains (Figure l). A dozen summits are more than

 

  
    
   
   

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1,100 feet above sea level. Only in the southwest are
there extensive plains that are around 2,500 square miles
of cultivable land. In short, for the whole island, there
is less than one-third of its area consisting of plains.
Topographically, the island is divided into two unequal
parts by the main ranges an eastern mountainous region and
a western plain. On the east coast of Taiwan, in contrast,
cliffs of breathtaking height drop precipitously to the

Pacific Ocean depths.

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Area
Elevation (in meters) (in sq. meters) %

below 100 (below 328 ft.) 11,244 31.3
100 - 500 (328 - 1,640 ft.) 8,467 23.5
500 - 1,000 (1,600 - 3,281 ft.) 4,925 13.5
1,000 - 2,000 (3,281 - 6,562 ft.) 7,095 19.7
2,000 - 3,000 (6,562 - 9,842 ft.) 3,778 10.5
over 3,000 (over 9,842 ft.) 452 1.3

Total 35,961 100.0

The climate is subtropical, with a hot, humid
season and a short, cool winter broken by spells of
pleasantly warm weather. The island is situated within the
great Asian monsoon system, and local weather is controlled
by strong northeast winds in winter and less pronounced
southwest winds in summer. The northeast monsoon prevails

from late October to late March, lasting about five months

10

and bringing a rainy season to the windward side of north-
east Taiwan in this period. On the other hand, the south-
west monsoon starts in early May and ceases in late
September, lasting about five months. Thus, seasonal
contrasts in temperature are marked. The summer in Taiwan
is long and accompanied by intense heat, while the winter
is very short and never severely cold. Throughout the
island, the mean monthly temperature is about 20 deg. C. in
April. The period from June to September is the hottest
season of the year, when the mean monthly temperature
ranges from 26 deg. C. to 28 deg. C. During this period,
there is no marked temperature variation between the south
and the north. The extreme maximum temperature in various
places in this period are as follows: Taipei 38.6 deg. C.;
Taichung 39.3 deg. C.; Tainan 37.8 deg. C.; and Hengchun
37.1 deg. C. When the winter comes, the differences of
temperature between the south and north becomes more
distinct. In February, the coldest month in Taiwan, the
mean monthly temperature is 20.5 deg. C. at Hengchun in
the south and 14.8 deg. C. at Taipei in the north, showing
a difference of 5.7 deg. C. On the average, the temperature
in the coldest month drops 1 deg. C. for every 55 kilo-
meters of northward movement. Frost occasionally appears
in the north.

Taiwan lies in the usual path of the tropical

cyclones known as typhoons in East Asia. The typhoons are

11

the island's most destructive natural calamity. Most of
them that lash this island originate in the ocean far to
the east of the Philippine Islands. In the past 60 years
(1897-1956), the earliest typhoon occurred on April 23, and
the latest on November 26. The typhoon season generally
lasts 6 months from late May to early November. Speaking
of the monthly frequency of typhoons in Taiwan, July,
August, and September have the greater number with August
being the month having the absolute maximum.

All parts of Taiwan experience high humidity
(Figure 3) throughout the year in spite of the wide seasonal
variations in rainfall. Average relative humidities of
various sections are as follows: northeastern section,
83-90 per cent; northern section, 77-86 per cent; middle
section, 78-85 per cent; southern section, 74-87 per cent;
and eastern section, 73-80 per cent.2 Average relative
humidity in the settled parts of the island is about 80 per
cent (Figure 3).

The combination of winds, high mountains, and
surrounding seas results in heavy rainfall, especially on
wind slopes. Average yearly rainfall is more than double
that of the United States, ranging from 50 inches on the
low western coast to 250 inches and more on exposed

mountain slopes. In the north, the seasonal distribution

 

2Taiwan Weather Bureau Agrometeorological Section,
Agrometeorological Bulletin Vol. 18, 1971.

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14

of rainfall is rather even; in the northeast corner, rain-
fall in the northeast corner, rainfall in the winter half

of the year is more abundant than in the summer months.

The region, southward from the middle of the island, is very
dry in the winter months. But in the summer, as the
intensity of rainfall is very high, the rainfall in this
period is much more than in the winter and the farther

this region extends to the south, the more conspicuous is

the concentration of rainfall in the summer.

Production and Distribution of Bananas

The banana is called the "gold fruit" in Taiwan.
The banana tree cultivated is Cavendish. Although there is
no reliable documentary evidence as to the exact date when
the banana was first cultivated in Taiwan, fragmental
information from local records seems to indicate that it
was introduced from the southeast corner of the mainland
about 200 years ago. A hundred years later, banana
cultivation spread over all the plains of the whole
island. Because the banana plant is sensitive to cold
weather, most of the banana plantations are concentrated
in middle and south Taiwan with a few in the north. From
Table 4, we find that average prefectural banana production
of Taichung and Nantou (located in the middle of Taiwan)
accounted for 50 per cent of the total production; while
Kaohsiung and Pintung (located in the south), 38 per cent,

in the period of 1958-1960. Again, Table 5 also shows the

15

TABLE 4

Average Prefectural Banana
Production, 1958-1960

 

 

Prefecture m.t. %

Taipei 448 0.4
Ilan 160 0.1
Taoyuan 114 0.1
Hsinchu 144 0.4
Miaoli 392 0.4
Taichung 23,334 21.2
Changhwa 2,058 1.9
Nantou 31,745 28.9
Yunlin 214 0.2
Chiayi 1,351 1.2
Tainan 1,928 1.8
Kaohsiung 18,123 16.5
Pintung 23,682 21.5
Taitung 5,208 4.7
Hwalien 781 0.7
Total 109,985 100.0

 

Source: Taiwan - An Economic and Social Geography,
Vol. 1 (1963).

16

TABLE 5

Prefectural Banana Production

 

 

 

in 1970

Prefecture m.t. %

Taipei 1,452 0.31
Ilan 130 0.03
Taoyun 418 0.09
Hsinchu 3,184 0.69
Miaoli 3,904 0.85
Taichung 34,016 7.37
Changhwa 11,117 2.41
Nantou 80,800 17.59
Yunlin 6,529 1.41
Chiayi 8,857 1.92
Tainan 11,264 2.44
Kaoshiung 111,652 24.18
Pintung 180,614 39.01
Taitung 4,650 1.01
Hwalien 3,242 0.70
Total 461,829 100,00

Source: Taiwan Agricultural Yearbook, 1971,

 

Provincial Government of Taiwan.

17

same thing that that of middle part accounted for 38 per
cent, and that of the south part, 63 per cent in 1970.
Therefore, the banana production area is markedly divided
into two regions, the central and the south; each with a
different growing season, type of management and per-
hectare yield. The bananas of the southern region are
mainly produced during the months from April to July, and
the largest amount is in June (about one-third of its
annual total).

Things are quite different in the central region
where throughout the year bananas are harvested. For the
island, most banana production is from May to October.

The fruit has a concentrated producing period and its
quantity and quality of production is also changeable with
the season. Almost half of the exported bananas were
harvested in April, May, June, and July in Taiwan (Table 6).

After being harvested on plantations, the bananas
are immediately transported to the closest collecting
station (packing house) by small trucks, or motor cars,
or ox-carts for primary checking in, classifying, weighing,
treatment, packing, and examination of quality. After
passing the random examination, the boxed bananas having
been labeled with stamps are loaded on trucks or railway
cars to the dock for shipping out to the destined foreign
markets--Japan, Korea, and Hong Kong. The boxed bananas
are checked again at the dock before being loaded into the

holds of the ships. Sometimes this is not done, depending

18

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19

upon the order from the related government institute.
Generally speaking, most of exported bananas are checked
well by a few random samples at the dock before loading.

Bananas are always green in color when harvested.
Bananas intended for long distance destinations such as
Japan and Korea are not allowed to develop over fully.
After receiving a cutting order the day before from the
cooperative, the farmers go to their own plantations to
harvest the fruit. Since a bunch of bananas may weigh
anywhere from 60 to 100 pounds and is far up in the air,
one man cannot handle it alone. 'At least two men are
required to get it safely from the plant to the ground.
One, with a special knife, cuts the stem a few feet below
the bunch, causing it to bend where it has been cut. The
other man is standing in readiness and receives the bunch
on his shoulder; the cutter then severs the bunch from the
plant. The bunches of fruit are immediately loaded on
small trucks, or motor cars, or ox-carts for transportation
to the closest collecting station.

Upon arrival at the closest collecting station
(Figure 4), the fruit is unloaded from the vehicles. The
bunches of bananas are cut into hands immediately by the
owner at the station. Technicans working for the local
cooperative classify the incoming bananas (Figure 5). The
fruits appraised as unqualified for export are either
returned to the owner (farmer) or sold to the same

cooperative or local jobber for domestic use at a lower

20

price, depending upon the owner's will. The bananas of
the desired quality for export to a particular country
(most of them to Japan) are selected, weighed, sold to the
station at a good price, and then placed at the pre-packing
waiting area. Hands of qualified bananas are washed
(Figure 6), painted with fungicial treatment on the cut
area of each hand, weighed in a plastic basin (Figure 7),
and divided into groups weighing 16 kilograms (almost
35.27 lbs.) before packing (Figure 8 and 9). The packer
then takes all of the fruits from the plastic basin and
loads them into a corrugated box with care. The boxed
bananas before shipping out of the station must be examined
by way of random samples by the quality inspector from the
government (Figure 10). If the boxed bananas fail to pass
this kind of examination, they are allowed to be dis-
tributed in domestic markets only. The passed boxed
bananas are sealed with a qualified label issued by the
related governmental supervisor. In the region under the
Taichung Fruit Marketing Cooperative, the boxed fruits are
carried on trucks or tramcars to Taichung Railway Station
where they are switched to railway cars to Keelung port.
Upon arrival at the dock of Keelung port the bananas are
unloaded on the wharf for the coming ship. On the other
hand, in the region of the Kaohsiung Fruit Marketing
Cooperative, the qualified fruits are shipped in trucks

directly to the wharf at Kaoshiung port. The cargoes are

21

 

Figure 4. Collecting Station (Packing House).

(Courtesy Taiwan Provincial Federation of Fruit
Marketing Cooperatives.)

 

Figure 5. Primary Classification.

(Courtesy Taiwan Provincial Federation of Fruit
Marketing Cooperatives.)

22

 

Figure 6. Washing.

(Courtesy Taiwan Provincial Federation of Fruit
Marketing Cooperatives.)

\u

 

Figure 7. Weighing.

(Courtesy Taiwan Provincial Federation of Fruit
Marketing Cooperatives.)

23

 

Figure 8. Packing (1).

(Courtesy Taiwan Provincial Federation of Fruit
Marketing Cooperatives.)

 

Figure 9. Packing (2).

(Courtesy Taiwan Provincial Federation of Fruit
Marketing Cooperatives.)

24

 

Figure 10. Inspecting.

(Courtesy Taiwan Provincial Federation of Fruit
Marketing Cooperatives.)

 

Figure 11. Loading on Truck.

(Courtesy Taiwan Provincial Federation of Fruit
Marketing Cooperatives.)

25

 

Figure 12. Loading Into the Holds.

(Courtesy Taiwan Provincial Federation of Fruit
Marketing Cooperatives.)

26

switched into refrigerated warehouse while wait for the
coming ship.

The channels of distribution of bananas are differ-
ent between the domestic and foreign marketing. Most of
the bananas for domestic markets come from the fruit
marketing cooperatives. Only a few of them are sent
directly from local jobbers or wholesalers. The bananas
for export come only through the fruit marketing co-
operatives. There are three different ways of distribution
of bananas to the domestic consuming markets. Those
bananas still on the trees are sold off to local dis-
tributors or wholesalers by the farmer himself and then
to retailers. Those bananas transported to the collecting
station recognized as not good for export are sold on the
spot by the farmer himself to distributors or wholesalers
and finally to retailers. Other bananas assembled together
from farmers at the collecting station are sold to dis-
tributors or wholesalers through the fruit marketing
cooperatives not by the individuals.

There are thousands of small banana plantations
scattered all over Taiwan, but most of them are in the
middle and the south. There is one federation of fruit
marketing cooperatives. Six local fruit marketing co-
operatives are located on the island. They are Taiwan
Provincial Federation of Fruit Marketing Cooperatives;
Taipei Fruit Marketing Cooperative; Hsin-Chen Fruit

Marketing Cooperative; Taichung Fruit Marketing Cooperative;

27

Kaohsiung Fruit Marketing Cooperative; Hwa-Lien Fruit
Marketing Cooperative; and Yuanlin Fruit Marketing Co-
operative. Their business is marketing of fruits produced
in Taiwan. The marketing of bananas is the main business
of Kaohsiung and Taichung Fruit Marketing Cooperatives.
The headquarters of Kaohsiung Fruit Marketing Cooperative
is located in Kaohsiung city in the south and its business
is in the same region. The others are of the same type as
Kaohsiung Cooperative.

The Kaohsiung Fruit Marketing Cooperative owns 18
business offices and 280 collecting stations despersed in
six administrative areas. They are Kaohsiung City,
Kaohsiung prefecture, Pentung city, Pentung prefecture,
Taitung prefecture, and Tainan prefecture (Figure 13).

The distance from the farthest collecting station in the
Kaohsiung-Pentung region to Kaohsiung wharf is 94 k.m.

more or less; the closest one is 21.5 k.m., and the average
is 55.7 k.m. Although the distance of the collecting
stations to the wharf is not very far, it will take 2 hours
40 minutes to reach, to the farthest one by truck, 50
minutes to the nearest one, and one hour 30 minutes to the
average because the highway surface is rather rough and

3 .
narrow. The highway has two-way traffic and is narrow

(only two lanes). So it naturally decreases the truck's

 

3The Kaohsiung Fruit Marketing Cooperative, Taiwan.

28

riflflbfl

THE MAP OF TAIWAN

4&1

Kevan. Lily

   

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Figure 13. Map of Taiwan (2).

29

speed and it takes more time for travelling. The head-
quarters of Taichung Fruit Marketing Cooperative is in
down town Taichung city. It governs 8 business offices
and 98 collecting stations scattered in its area.4 Its
business region covers the administrative area of Taichung
prefecture, Nantou prefecture, Changhua prefecture, and
Chiai prefecture (Figure 13). The distance of farthest
collecting station under Taichung cooperative to the
switching railway station is 66 k.m. by highway, the
nearest one, 0.02 k.m., and the average, 25.2 k.m.
(Figure 14). There are six switching railway stations to
Keelung port which are: Chiai railway station, Ta-lin
railway station, Tou-liu, Erh-shui, Taichung, and Féng-
yuan. The distance of Chiai railway station to Keelung
wharf is 240 k.m. more or less, while that of Féng-yfian
station to Keelung wharf is only about 160 k.m. and that
of Taichung station to Keelung wharf is about 180 k.m.
(Figure 15). The transportation of bananas from the
closest collecting station to Keelung wharf takes 7 hours
30 minutes while that of the farthest one to the above
wharf takes 10 hours 30 minutes.

The banana business of the Kaohsiung Cooperative is
greater than that of the Taichung Cooperative. For

instance for export, 12 million cases of bananas were

 

4Courtesy of the Taichung Fruit Marketing Co-
operative, Taiwan.

30

   
  

fiflhfiflfitflfi?
sAwawn MOVEMENT mITAmHUNG
1955

1.....-

._-..__. |I1lo
, .

 

 

 

 

Figure 14. Banana Movement in Taichung.

Source: Chen-Siang Chen, Taiwan--An Economic and
Social Geography, Vol. 1 (1963), p. 377.

31

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Movement of Banana (By Railroad).

Figure 15.

32

handled by Kaohsiung Cooperative in 1970 while a little
more 3 million cases were handled by Taichung Cooperative
in the same year (Table 7).

Taiwan Provincial Federation of Fruit Marketing
Cooperatives is a union of six marketing cooperatives. The
members of this federation are the representives of six
fruit marketing cooperatives, the number of representives
depending upon the quantity of their fruits exported
yearly. The main function of this federation is management
of trade business including making deals with the foreign
importers and to arrange the shipping schedule. Its office
is located in down town Taipei. Meanwhile, the cooperatives
provide the function of transporting exported fruits from
plantation to wharf and of quality control.

At the packing house (collecting house), boxed
bananas after passing inspection (Figure 10), wait to be
loaded onto trucks or train without refrigeration. They
usually wait for one to three hours for loading, rarely
less than one hour. It takes almost 30-50 minutes to load
a cargo onto a truck. When the truckload of fruit arrives
at the wharf (Figure 11), the fruits are unloaded first
into a refrigerated warehouse (in Kaohsiung wharf). They
usually remain there up to 23 hours on the average before
being loaded into holds. The temperature of the refriger—

ated warehouse usually stays at 18 deg. C. more or less.

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33

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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34

It is necessary to spend 6 to 8 hours for 90,000 cases of
bananas to be loaded into the hold completely (Figure 12).5
Transportation is handled differently in the

central and northern parts of Taiwan. At the packing
houses in those areas, boxed bananas also must pass the
quality inspection first and then wait for loading either
on trucks or trains. If there is a railway track passing
the packing house, railway cars always are used as a means
of transportation for shipment of bananas because railway
costs are lower than truck transport.

On the average, it takes as much time for a railway
car as for a truck to load the same amount of boxed bananas.
There are two available ways of transporting boxed bananas
in this area. One is to first use a truck and then switch
to railway cars to the Keelung wharf. Another is first by
railway cars on 30-inch-gage tracks and then by trains on
42-inch-gage track to Keelung wharf. However, the vehicles
used there do not have any refrigerating machinery to
control the temperature of the bananas. The banana ships
are usually refrigerated.

Since 1895, when Japan first occupied Taiwan, the
bananas produced on the island have been sent to Japan.

At the beginning the quantity was small, but by 1909, the
quantity of bananas exported was up to 5,138 m.t. Hence-

forth, exports increased yearly. The bananas exported to

 

5The Kaohsing Fruit Marketing Cooperative, Taiwan.

35

Japan in 1937 were at a level of 168,405 m.t., thirty
times of that of 1909. This rapid development is due to

6 (1) the normal natural conditions in the

four factors:
center and southern parts of Taiwan are favorable to

banana cultivation; (2) a monopoly of the market in Japan;
(3) improvements in land and sea transport facilitated the
export of the fruit; (4) a well-organized cooperative

system regulated production and distribution. Before the
Pacific war, almost nine-tenths of all the banana annual
production were sold to Japan. During the decade 1931-40,
there was an average annual export of 129,215 m.t. of which
Japan took 115,995 m.t. or 90 per cent of the gross total.
The remainder was distributed between mainland China and
Korea. Only a very small proportion of the fruit is
retained in Taiwan. But after 1942, as the Japanese
retreated across the Pacific, shipping routes were
obstructed and land communications damaged, even obliterated
by the allies raids, and the exports of bananas from Taiwan
to Japan declined. During the early years after the
restoration of Taiwan in 1945, a small amount of bananas
were shipped to the mainland where they were sold mostly

in Shanghai.

 

6Chen-Siang Chen, Taiwan--An Economic and Social
Geo ra h , Vol. 1 (Taiwan, China: Fu-Min Geographical
Institute of Economic Development, 1963), p. 372.

 

36

The banana trade of Taiwan and Japan was temporarily
broken during 1945-1949. In 1949, the National Government
was forced to withdraw to Taiwan. This government signed
a barter-trade pact with Japan in September, 1950. Since
then, large amounts of Taiwan bananas have been shipped to
Japan every year because of the re-opening of the tra-
ditional Japanese market starting in 1951. During the 17
years from 1954 to 1970, with the exception of 1956, 1958,
1959, 1960, and 1961, over 95 per cent of Taiwan's total
annual export of bananas were shipped to Japan (Table 8
and 9). In 1965, almost all banana exports went to Japan
which accounted for 99.3 per cent of total Taiwan banana

export in that year.

Banana Packaging in Taiwan

The bananas for the domestic market are not packed
in a package or wrapped with some packaging materials for
protection after they are harvested and loaded on the
trucks in the plantations. Those bananas alloted to
domestic markets at the collecting station are also loaded
on the trucks without any packaging materials for pro-
tecting. In order to use the ripening room efficiently
and economically, the processor always packs almost 50 kg.
of the bananas in a bamboo basket, before they are put into
the room for ripening. It is very simple to pack bananas
in a bamboo basket without any consideration of the

functions of a package. The consumers neither like a

37

TABLE 8

Exports of Taiwan Bananas--By Destination

 

 

 

Japan Okinawa Hong Kong Korea Total
1951 . 1,762,176
1952 . . 2,721,318
1953 . . . 1,422,168
1954 1,966,854 -——— 18,417 ——— 1,985,271
1955 1,648,497 6,681 52,704 -——— 1,707,882
1956 1,210,752 2,385 28,899 20,613 1,262,649
1957 1,632,963 28,890 29,517 60,621 1,751,991
1958 2,433,534 38,058 44,709 109,470 2,625,771
1959 2,529,078 69,531 177,258 172,221 2,948,088
1960 2,767,731 71,124 96,186 105,249 3,040,290
1961 4,416,858 108,006 160,194 95,691 4,781,649
1962 3,429,945 79,380 77,007 10,197 3,596,529
1963 3,617,310 72,570 54,291 46,584 3,790,629
1964 12,437,589 100,689 16,833 6,000 12,561,111
1965 20,944,767 135,048 12,423 ——— 21,092,238
1966 22,827,096 227,517 27,300 56,337 23,138,250
1967 26,195,558 280,272 95,754 101,628 26,673,212
1968 23,516,372 304,580 143,166 128,739 24,092,857
1969 25,359,749 374,659 225,125 146,280 26,105,813
1970 14,419,043 497,066 31,101 186,736 15,133,946
Source: Taiwan Provincial Federation of Fruit

Marketing Cooperatives, Taiwan Fruit Yearbook, Taiwan,

1971.

Note:

Unit:

-—— none,

c/t (16 kg.).

and ". ."

uncertain.

38

TABLE 9

Exports of Taiwan Bananas in Percentage--
By Destination

 

 

 

Japan Okinawa Hong Kong" Korea Total
1951 . . . . . . . . 100.00
1952 . . . . 100.00
1953 . . . . . . 100.00
1954 99.09 ——— 0.01 ——_. 100.00
1955 96.48 0.42 3.10 ___. 100.00
1956 95.88 0.17 2.29 1.66 100.00
1957 93.15 1.67 1.70 3.48 100.00
1958 92.69 1.45 1.71 4.15 100.00
1959 85.78 2.39 6.00 5.83 100.00
1960 91.05 2.34 3.16 3.45 100.00
1961 92.37 2.28 3.32 2.03 100.00
1962 95.38 2.19 2.14 0.27 100.00
1963 95.43 1.92 1.42 1.21 100.00
1964 99.01 0.80 0.13 0.06 100.00
1965 99.30 0.64 '0.05 ___1 100.00
1966 98.65 0.98 0.11 0.24 100.00
1967 98.20 1.04 0.35 0.38 100.00
1968 97.60 1.26 0.59 0.53 100.00
1969 97.14 1.43 0.86 0.55 100.00
1970 95.27 3.28 0.20 1.23 100.00

Source: Taiwan Provincial Federation of Fruit

Marketing Cooperatives, Taiwan Fruit Yearbook, Taiwan,

1971.

Note:

-——- none,

 

and ".

uncertain.

39

package nor want to pay any more cost of packaging con-
cerned when they buy bananas in the retail market. The
bamboo basket is cheap and only accounts for a very small
part of the banana retail price in Taiwan.

Since the bananas from Taiwan were first exported
to Japan in 1909,7 the bamboo baskets had been used as the
packager, until the second half of 1969, then corrugated
board containers were adopted for the exported bananas.
This was because the supervising institute-—the Board of
Foreign Trade--had been inundated frequently with com-
plaints on the quality of Taiwan exported bananas from
Japan's importers. They complained that too many bananas
were damaged upon arrival at the Japanese ports. According
to the trade contract, if the rate of damage to the
bananas at arrival exceeded 3 per cent, the overage of

damaged bananas should be replaced with good bananas

without cost within a specified amount of time.

 

7Chen-Siang Chen, op. cit.

III. BANANA PACKAGING IN OTHER BANANA

EXPORTING AREAS

Before 1954, the bunches of bananas were shipped
naked in the trades of Tropical America and West Africa.8
Bananas for long distance shipment were somewhat packed or
wrapped in packaging materials. Banana packaging may be
roughly divided into two types: one for bunches of
bananas, and another for hands or clusters of bananas.

The Packing of a Bunch
of Bananas

The practice of wrapping bunches of bananas was
apparently developed by the two big banana shipping
companies, the Standard Fruit and Steamship Company and
the United Fruit Company, during the early 1950's.9 The
method adopted as standard in Ecuador and Honduras was to
use polyethylene jackets of 0.00015 vented polyethylene

tubing, 27 inches wide and cut to standard length of about

54 inches. The polyethylene tubing was perforated with

 

8"Operation Banana," Modern Packaging (January,
1955). PP. 104-05, 174.

 

9N. w. Simmonds, Bananas (London: 1966), p. 208.

40

41

three-fourths inch holes on four inch centers.lo Large
rolls of polyethylene tubing twenty-two inches wide
perforated with three—quarter inch holes three to four
inches apart were used in Jamaica.11
There are two methods of packing in polyethlene

12

film. In the first method the stem is stood upright with

the thick or butt-end lowermost, and the layflat tubing is
drawn down from above until the fruit is entirely covered.
Then the film is gathered in around the tip of the stem and
tied tightly with fibre, after which the extremely of the
tip is cut off. A similar procedure is followed with the
base of the stem. After securing the film tightly around
it, the butt-end is cleanly trimmed, allowing a small
portion to project beyond the wrapping. By means of this
butt, the stems are handled and transported. In the second
method the stem of fruit is suspended by its butt above the
packaging bench and the sleeve of polyethylene tubing is
drawn over it from below, tying of at both ends proceeding
as before. Trimming of the tip and the butt completes the
package.

The enclosure of bunches in parcels is practiced
by the trades operating in the French West Indies and

French West Africa, the Windward Islands and Israel (for

 

lo"Operation Banana," op. cit.

llSimmonds, op. cit.

12"Banana Shippers Adopt Polyethlene," Packaging
(January, 1956), pp. 42-43, 86.

42

Export fruit only).13 The method has displaced polyethylene

bagging in Jamaica since 1962. The parcels are made of

two layers of strong brown paper separated by a layer of
straw (imported oat straw from the French West Indies); the
spaces between the hands are packed with wads of paper and
the whole parcel is tied firmly with heavy sisal string;
the bunch is completely enclosed, no gaps being left for
ventilation.

A somewhat similar method is used for Brazilian
"Dwarf Cavendish" fruit shipped to Europe, though there
the wrapping is applied to the bunch before cutting; the
wrapping is made either of cotton wool surrounded by a
straw mat which is wrapped firmly tied at each end or by
cotton wool surrounded by a heavy paper bag which is
slipped over the bunch from below and tied at the big end
only.

Some Canary Islands banana is also packed in paper
parcels although boxing of fruit from the islands is more
common. "Dwarf Cavendish" fruit shipped from Hawaii to the
United States was wrapped in paper, rice straw and banana
trash, the whole tied with string of midribs of banana
leaves. In addition, bunches of bananas are packed
in boxes in the Canary Islands, the bunches being wrapped

in straw and nailed into open-sided slotted crates. Each

 

13Simmonds, op. cit., p. 209.

43

crate holds one to five bunches, depending on size;

fibreboard drums are sometimes substituted.14

Packing Hands or Clusters
of Bananas

There are several ways in packing hands or clusters
of bananas in bamboo baskets, gunny sacks or boxes or
cases. In India, detached hands of bananas are packed in
bamboo baskets or gunny sacks for the carriage.15 Packing
bananas in boxes or cases has long been standard in the
South Pacific banana trades but has only lately begun to
penetrate those of tropical America.16

Methods used in the South Pacific are as follows.
A 60 1b. (net) case is used in Australia, a 70 lb. case in
Fiji, Samoa and Tonga; the cases are commonly supplied as
pieces of wood cut to size and the grower must nail them up
for himself. Fruit is normally cut into fingers before
packing but some trade is carried on in "clusters" of
three to six fruits or in complete hands. There are
several accepted methods of laying the fruit in the case,
the appropriate method depending upon the size of the unit
and of the fruit. Whatever method of packing is followed,

fruit of one size only is packed in any one case. The

cases are packed with a bulge to allow for shrinkage during

 

14Ibid. lsIbid., p. 210 l6Ibid.

 

44

transport; they can be completed without mechanical aid
but are more efficiently closed in a lidding press.17

In South Africa 240 lb. cases are normally used
and the fruit is packed in the hand; the use of smaller
(150 lb.) cases is under consideration.

After several years of experimentation, Standard
Fruit introduced in 1960 a corrugated box with a center
divider to protect better the stacked, naked hands, which
later are sectioned off into clusters. United Fruit, which
had tried to box bananas in 1929, prior to refrigerated
shipping, decided the method just could not work, for
bananas once cut from the main stem ripened too quickly.
When the corrugated box was successfully re-introduced into
the market in 1960, the United Fruit began to use it

again.18

United Fruit packs six full hands in a corrugated
box with a center partition. The shipper, designed for
wrapped clusters, has a corrugated insert with tabs to
separate each cluster. This shipping container contains
two layers of bananas, with ten clusters in each layer.
Each box has integral, self-locking slots in the lid and
bottom end panels. Long slots are die cut in the top and
bottom panels for ventilation even when boxes are stacked.

Years later, United Fruit Company was developing a

new shipping container. The container is divided into

 

17Ibid.

18'"Bananas: Last Big Hold-Out in Foods," Modern
Packaging (June, 1964), pp. 134-36, 218.

45

five sections and is smaller than previous shipping
containers. The partitioning cuts down free space within
the box. Four clusters of from four to seven fingers each
are packed in a section, two on the bottom and two on top.
The new containers are packed at tropic stations on the
company's banana farm in Golfito, Costa Rica, and in
Armuelles and Almirante in Panama. They are produced by
United Fruit at box manufacturing plants in Golfito and
Armuelles near the growing areas.19
The new corrugated box developed by the Standard
Fruit and Steamship Company has a packed gross weight of
47 pounds. At the plantation packing plants, 41.5 pounds
of product are placed in each box, allowing for shrinkage

of 1.5 pounds down to the selling unit of 40 pounds.20

 

19"United Fruit Testing Shipping Containers,"
Food Field Reporter, Vol. 32, No. 12, 22 (June 6-July,
I964Y} p. 22.

20"Standard Fruit Uses New Banana Shipper," Food

Field Re orter, Vol. 28, No. 23, 7 (November, 1960),
pp. 44,58.

 

IV. PHYSIOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF

POST-HARVESTED BANANA FRUIT

In the packaging of living fruits, special attention
must be given to the physiological changes after harvesting.
As might be expected, the longer the fruit is in the
package the greater the effect of the package on the
physiology of the fruit. The following material is about
the physiological changes of bananas cut of the parent tree

that has been investigated previously by the physiologists.

Respiration

Fruits are living materials even though they are
cut off their parents' trees, they still require to breathe.
Fruits in general absorb oxygen and expire carbon dioxide.
The banana is a kind of fruit.

The fruit (banana) continues to respire when
removed from the tree, evolving carbon dioxide along with
ethylene and probably small amounts of volatile esters.21

Gerber found that the respiration of banana was character-

ized at low temperatures by a respiratory quotient (R0) of

 

21Harry W. Von Loesecke, Bananas (1949), p. 71.

46

47

less than unity (0.58), and that the RQ increased to a
peak of 0.94 during ripening. This was followed by a
decrease to a 0.63. At elevated temperatures, the RQ
increased to 3.88 in the over—ripe fruit.22
Gane showed that the respiration rate (r, mg. carbon
dioxide per kg. per hr.) of preclimacteric fruit* in the

temperature range 0-20 deg. C. was exponentially related to

temperature (T, deg. C.):
log R = 0.843 + 0.0348 T

from which Q10 = 2.23, a figure in substantial agreement
with the 010 found for various other preclimacteric
fruits.23
In general, the trend of respiration is an initially
steady, relatively low rate for green, unripe fruit,
followed by a rapid rise during the early ripening period.
The ripe and over-ripe fruit show a fairly steady, but
usually slowly rising rate until the peel becomes com-
pletely brown and serious fungal wastage takes place, when
a final rise may occur (Figure 16). The period of rapid

increase in carbon dioxide liberation is referred to as the

climacteric. According to Leonard, it is essentially a

 

*The peak is referred to as the "climacteric" and
firm green fruit may be called "preclimacteric," ripe
fruit "postclimacteric."

22Loesecke, op. cit.

23Simmonds, op. cit., p. 221.

 

 

I

300 ,'
I
I

-~

 

200
/ 77°

/
/
/
__/
100 A

,1/

o T’—

0 10 20

 

Rate of Respiration, mg./C02/kg./hr.

 

 

 

 

 

Time, Days
Figure 16. The Rate of Respiration

The rate of production of carbon dioxide by
bananas (initially unripe) at different temperatures. The
curves at 77° and 87.8° F. are terminated by mold growth
indicated by the broken lines.

Source: Harry W. Von Loesecke, Bananas (London:
1949), p0 72.

49

transition phase in which the tissues are passing from a

low level of metabolic activity to a higher one.24

Respiration varies with the temperature. The
following data obtained from green fruit by Gane indicate

the general trend.25

Tem erature Respiration Rate,
“ETIL"'FRFT) mg. COz/kg./hr.
32° ( 0°) 7.1

41° ( 5°) 10.0

54 (12.5°) 18.5

59° (15°) 23.6

68° (20°) 35.8

88° (31°) 61

Olney reported that at 53.6 deg. F. (12 deg. C.) respi-
ration was reduced to about one-third of that at 68 deg. F.
(20 deg. C.). Wardlaw found that under conditions of
rapid cooling from tropical temperatures to 53 deg. F.
(11.7 deg. C.) with carbon dioxide accumulation and oxygen
depletion in closed containers, the respiration rate of

the fruit fell off rapidly from an initial value of 35-40

to 8-10 milligrams per kilogram per hour.26

 

4Loesecke, op. cit., p. 72.

251bid., p. 73.

26Op. cit.

50

The heat evolved by the fruit during ripening is

27 In engineering

of considerable commercial importance.
units, Smith reports that at the time of arrival at port
of discharge, bananas have a heat production of the order
of 150 B.t.u. per ton per hour. This may increase in a
few days, if the fruit continues to be stored at 53° to
54° F. (ll.7° to 12.2° C.), to a maximum of 450 B.t.u./

ton/hr.28

Gane found that fruit on the stalk gave the
same values as detached hands.

The internal concentration of gases (carbon
dioxide and oxygen) will vary during the ripening period.29
Leonard and Wardlaw found that when fruit was transferred
from 85° F. (29.4° C.) to 53° F. (11.7° C.) there was a
decrease in internal oxygen. Then approximately steady
levels were maintained during storage at 53° F. (11.7° C.);
but on transferring to 68° F. (20° C.) or 65° F. (18.3° C.)
transition effects were observed. This was followed by
the establishment of new levels, i.e., higher carbon
dioxide and lower oxygen concentrations. With the onset
of ripening, the internal concentrations of carbon dioxide
and oxygen rose and fell, respectively. In this con-

nection, the peak of internal carbon dioxide concentration

closely approximated in time the peak of respiration rate.

 

27Ibid., p. 74. 28Ibid.

 

291bid., p. 75.

51

During the climacteric phase there was a recovery in
oxygen concentration from minimal values, and a decline in
carbon dioxide concentration from the peak value. The
increased resistance to the movement of gases offered by
the tissues as a result of ripening changes was attended
by a decline in the oxygen concentration and an increase
in carbon dioxide during senescence.

The preclimacteric trends in internal gas con-
centrations at 53° F. (11.7° C.) and at 68° F. (20°C.) or
at 65° F. (18.3° C.) showed only small changes, but they
were consistently in the direction of increasing con-
centrations of carbon dioxide. This indicated a changing
rate of metabolism, and was confirmed by estimations of
carbohydrate metabolites. In fruit held at 53° F.

(11.7° C.), the onset of ripening was denoted by a slow
rise in internal carbon dioxide concentration to a low
maximum value in the mature of a sustained level. Internal
oxygen concentrations slowly descended to a minimum value
with the exception that this minimum value was attained
after the peak in the internal carbon dioxide curve and

was immediately followed by attainment of the "sprung"*

condition.30

 

*The stage at which the peel of the fruit starts
to show a blush of yellow through the green.

30Ibid., p. 76.

52

Water Relationships31

 

The banana skin bears stomata and transpiration
continues after the bunch has been cut. The magnitude of
transpiration depends on temperature and relative humidity.
The green fruit, immediately after cutting, shows an
initial fall in transpiration rate and then settles down
to a steady state at a level depending upon temperature
and humidity; at the climacteric there is a sharp peak
followed, as the fruit ripens, by the attainment of a new
steady state which is, like the respiration curve, somewhat
higher than the preclimacteric level. There is usually a
final rise in water loss which is related to degenerative
changes of the skin caused by fungal attack: since the
skin in this stage is senescent the loss can hardly be
described as transpiration. These facts were established
for individual fruits; because the bunch ripens pro-
gressively from the top hand to the bottom, the climacteric
transpiration peaks of individual fingers are concealed
and whole bunches (or bigger bulks of fruit) show simply a

steadily rising curve of water loss during ripening.

Gas Relationships32

Ethylene is produced by the ripening banana as it

is produced by many other fruits during the climacteric.

 

31$immonds, op. cit., pp. 223-25.

321bid., pp. 225-26, 229.

53

Gane showed that gases produced by ripening bananas would
hasten ripening in preclimacteric fruit and that the effect
could be prevented by the admission of ozone to the air
stream; ozone is known to oxidize ethylene very readily
and we shall see below that its commercial use for this
purpose has been proposed. Gane estimated ethylene
production of preclimacteric "Gros Michel" at 53° F. as
about 0.1 mg./kg./day and the amount roughly doubled as
the fruit ripened; the trend of production is thus similar
to that of carbon dioxide. Biale got much the same result
and estimated production at the respiration peak as

0.004 ml./kg./hr. (equivalent to 0.13 mg./kg./day).

74. -_v——. .u._n-——

 

V. CAUSES OF POSSIBLE DAMAGE TO

BANANAS DURING SHIPMENT

Damaged banana may be defined as the fruit with
some premature ripening, or chilling, or fungal loss at the
destination port. On the other hand, the fruit of good
quality must be firm, green, and without any chilling,
abrasion, or scarring at the importing port. There are

three main different damages of the banana carrying trade;

i.e., premature ripening, chilling, mechanical damage, and

fungal wastage.33

Causes of Premature Ripening
First, the fruit is cut overfu11* at the planta-
tions for a particular trade. The fitness of the fruit at
cutting is important. The chosen level of fitness for
export depends partly upon clone and partly upon the length
of the voyage which the fruit must undergo; generally, the

longer the voyage the less full the fruit.

 

33Simmonds, op. cit., pp. 230-46.

*The fruit is out while green but developed. At
this time it is given descriptive terms such as "three-
fourths full," and "heavy three-fourths full," and "full"
to indicate the grade and maturity at harvest.

54

55

Second, leaf spot infection of the plant affects
the development of the fruit. The investigators (Wardlaw,
Leonard, and Barnell) reported that the fruit from mildly
infected plants, though normal in appearance, is liable to
premature ripening. Probably, the cause is simply that
leaf spot, by reducing the leaf area of the plant, reduces
the rate of fruit filling and so causes a discrepancy
between chronological and physiological age; bunches cut
at a certain level of fullness may in fact be older than
they appear to be and thus liable to premature ripening.

Third, if the time between cutting the fruit and
cooling is too long in fruit which is approaching the
climacteric, it appears that two or three days at tropical
temperatures may be sufficient to initiate the climacteric,
so that the fruit later ripens abroad ship (Hales, 1956).
Barnell (1941) found biochemical indications of ripening
changes in as little as one day after cutting. In this
connection it is important to remember that cooling does
not stop the climacteric--it merely delays it; therefore,
the ill-effects of rapid advance towards the climacteric
caused by high initial temperatures cannot be undone by
subsequent cooling.

Fourth, is the failure of refrigeration aboard
ship. At the steady state of respiration characteristic
of preclimacteric fruit, the refrigeration machinery of
the ship is normally far more than adequate to deal with

the heat output of the fruit; a slight reduction in

56

refrigerating capacity, or a temporary failure of the
refrigerating gear is therefore not likely to cause much
trouble. A serious or prolonged failure, however, may
allow some of the fruit to enter the climacteric and the
results may be catastrophic if an appreciable proportion

of the fruit starts to ripen.

Chilling

Chilling is an unhealthy condition induced by

 

exposure to unsuitably low temperatures during transpor-
tation or storage. It is difficult to recognize in the
green banana. During ripening, chilling is recognized by
such abnormalities as: (l) delayed ripening, or in some
cases complete failure to ripen; (2) hardening of the
central placenta (more pronounced in the Cavendish than in
the Gros Michel); (3) assumption of a dull yellow color;
and (4) in the Gros Michel, the dull yellow color is
replaced by a dull russet hue which later darkens and is
rendered more unsightly by the presence of black blotches
and patches soft to the touch.

The effect of chilling is in relation to clone.
Wardlaw and McGuire (1931, 1933) recognized that the
"Dwarf Cavendish" was less susceptible to chilling than

"Gros Michel" and that "Gros Michel" was, in turn, less

 

34Loesecke, op. cit., pp. 59-60.

57

susceptible than other members of the Cavendish group.

Field chilling (called "plantation chill") is also known

to occur during winter in the subtropics.35 Again Wardlaw
and McGuire, using higher temperatures, found that chilling
would occur in Gros Michels after an exposure of 14 days

at 52° F. (11.1° C.), and after 9 days at 51° F. (10.6° C.).
However, these workers established that rapid cooling to

53° F. (11.7° C.) within 12 days may be practiced without
danger of chilling during the usual steamship voyage of

16 to 20 days.36

Mechanical Damage
Mechanical damage to the bananas is normally the
result of human handling, machine operation, pressing,
scarring, and bruising. The cause of this sort of damage
is due to the absences of a package or to a package too

weak to protect the fruit during shipment.

Causes of Fungal Wastage
Most of the damage done by fungi in storage is a
direct consequence of mechanical damage done to the fruit
during cutting, handling or transport. The principal
storage diseases of the banana are summarized in Table 10;
the last three out of six entries in this table represent

primary infections of unwounded tissues which are relatively

 

35Losecke, op. cit.

36Ibid., p. 64.

.copwo>a 03 casosm scan: unnumHocoeoc moonwanfid cm .muou new Ewan mm on pvuuouou mosauweom anon who «you xauuu noméwm and wuou xaduu awn:

.uou use sown dung: quacm an on vouuouou noaHuOBOn n4 you xaaum uuoCAm

 

 

58

 

 

 

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. ma «use: ocucumflu Gamma onuu
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Anuuoun cad
no>uoa mewuuowca uo H¢>oa moan uomcau mo>moa noduamcuuu Aaaunumv
nouv Umumomvsu :oHuuuacum can muou mumpcooom “mono: dou we can mucoun pouowmca >umpcoowm Ham confiuu omaomav
oaofiulnucuuuomfia >uo> uoz mHoowpwm pan macacmdo uo vcfiuuwm moon scuu .vaoaw ozu :H .mwaoomm ope o~ nauuasufiuam mewuuwa
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mo coMuaHow cw uwsuu cooum cannuoouwocs. >Hamcuwuxm oanfimfi> oauuaa macaumuomo ucaxomm wanna .mv
map “ocowmmn onzontucflxoum “ouoo us mcfluuoum dang no you uuom wcwusp moocuusm usu ouomooumwz nouuasvm
auscunomnu
mapoaaapoAMUom Anon maul mapoamaposuuom
Inabflauu>fi cwmum Lmflxwuv "Edwuommoonu undefiou LucmHuwm Amcflmuum
cuaas>uoon nwaocwu “Gaza we no» umOm commoou “meowmmunm mammoguum Hduo>vnv muou xumam
.vCHcomwu mafinan mcfimoHo>ov meonOH can mmmaaun “noduuow auuvcoomm mafia 0cm Efiuamsa muou uwdum
aaxm ucoomwaooo .wcauooumm .cBoum new oaoau ucwuaq nmwauwmm poo om sawhommowoao .wmocouusuct
0060unoosu
mucus unaa can .ouo mavodmapoauuom uuou
noun nomcaw 03u mou ea >HcAuE owaaaoauuw> aaummsa xamum
«mawowuom can oceanmnu pwuuom .mHmufluwm voomeo .mfiummau aswuomnoooHo uwvcHh
Bananas
Eflauomm000ao
auscunoosu
mumum o>auoou0um mono ummcMw “mucus mammonudm navoamwvo>uuom
nu“: unouu was omn3oum accaeuou no mcofinmso Ou mcflpmwumm humocouom mane oxouaudm muou
cucuon mxaauw vacuum .AoCAuuHHmm can ovoxcfiunmv uou Ewum mxamum pmeEdo .msouwnfisz maudOa>aHoana xauum nan:
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Aamma .mmma .adauuusv

omnuoum aw ococmm onu uo mmmuomflo

0H wand?

59

unimportant sources of loss; the first four, which include
all the serious causes of fungal wastage, all result
primarily from mechanical damage, the wounds providing a
means of ingress for invading fungi.37

It is safe to assert that undamaged fruit suffers
insignificantly from fungal wastage. There are three main
kinds of damage that may be suffered by the bunch in
transit: damage to the ends of the main stalk, caused by
rough usage when the bunch is stood on end; damage to
"cushions,"* resulting from wrenching of exposed top and
bottom hands in stowage; and damage to finger skins caused
by laying the bunch roughly on its side, and by abasion
against trash and neighboring fruit. It will be seen from
Table 10 that the fungi which invade wounds are common to
all sites of infection. They are ubiquitous organisms in
the tr0pics, generally weakly parastic or semi-saprophytic
on a very wide range of plants and plant products. Their
growth is favored by high temperatures and humidities; for
example Botryodiplodia theobromae and Gloeosporium musarum
grow in culture about ten times as fast at tropical temper-
atures as at 53° F. (Wardlaw and McGuire, 1931). It must
be assumed that, under tropical conditions, every wound

will swiftly and unavoidably become infected with one or

more of the numerous potential pathogens; on board ship

 

*The cushion is a nodal protuberance which the
hand rests upon.

37Simmonds, op. cit.

60

it must likewise be assumed that the high humidity and air
circulation system also ensure the infection of every
wound. The results of infection by these fungi are not
generally obvious before ripening and by far the most
important losses are incurred in the ripening house as
consequence of infections received days or even weeks
previously. That is, the infections remain latent until
ripening begins; it may be that fungal growth is inhibited
by the abundant tannins (phenolic substances) of the unripe

fruit (of. Chakravarty, 1957, on Gloeosporium).38

 

381bid.

VI. THE EVOLUTION OF TAIWAN

BANANA PACKAGING

Before we become concerned with Taiwan banana
packaging in detail, let us first review for a while the
functions of a package or a shipping container.

Packaging is the art, science and technology of
preparing goods for transport and sale.39 Likewise,
packaging can be thought of as performing three basic
functions: protection and containment; utility, including
convenience; and motivation of people to buy and use
properly.40

No one knows for sure when the first container was
fashioned by man. It is undoubted that the earliest ones
were used to hold or contain natural foods shipped in a
limited small area only. During the earliest days when the

simple barter and trade was going on, goods were probably

transferred from the container of one party to that of

 

39'Blackie & Son Limited, Fundamentals of Packaging
(London: Blackie & Son Limited, I962 , p. 1.

40Harold J. Raphael, Packagingip A Scientific
Marketing Tool (East Lansing, Michigan, 1969), p. xIT

61

62

another. The gradual development of trade to more distant
places due to advanced transport brought on a demand for
suitable containers to hold the merchandise during
transport. Undoubtedly, the main function of a shipping
container for a voyage of great distance must be to do
well the jobs of storing, protecting, and assisting in the
transport of the particular product safely.

Although it is believable that commodities could
be transported and sold without any form of protection
provided, the great majority of consumer goods need some
degree of protection from one or more hazards and, there-
fore, must be packaged. For these items it is necessary
that the package protects the product from all hazards from
the time it is packaged until the ultimate consumer uses
it in its entirety.

Two important points must be considered with

regard to the protection function:41

A. The package must give protection to the product
prior to and, in many cases, during the life of
the product. Therefore, the life of the package

must exceed the anticipated life of the product.

B. Protection is always specific because each product
needs protection only for its own specific

vulnerabilities.

 

41Ibid., pp. 43-44.

63

The package should aid in the transportation,

42 It should

storage, selling, and use of the product.
provide the means to move the product efficiently through
the channels of distribution to the point of ultimate use,
and then aid in the use and consumption of the product.
This includes such things as proper quantities, ease of
price marking, ease of disposal, and many more.

The essential purpose of a shipping container is
to contain and protect its contents during transport from
producer or manufacturer to consumer. The functions a
shipping container has to perform are several.

The first and prime function is, of course, that
it shall contain the article(s) and any protective material
provided in such a way as to prevent spillage during the
journey between manufacturer and ultimate consumer. It may
also be required to keep out dirt, dust, moisture, heat,
insects, rodents, or other foreign material. Secondly, it
may need to be designed to prevent pilferage. A third
important property of the shipping container is that it
shall be compatible with the materials contained within it.

A shipping container must often possess sufficient
strength to withstand stacking hazards during transport and
storage. The shipping container may also have to provide

some degree of ventilation between its interior and the

 

42Ibid., p. 44.

64

outside conditions. This is particularly true in the case
of perishable foodstuffs, livestock, and sometimes when
packaging corrodible metal articles. Finally, a shipping
container should be so designed that access to its contents
can be achieved relatively easily, without having to read

a book of instructions.

In the present banana trade, the economic value
and the quality of a certain amount of bananas is deter-
mined at the destination ports, not at the plantations.

The banana is a tropical fruit but it is consumed on a
worldwide scale. In general, most of the countries which
consume large quantities of bananas are far away from the
producing regions. Japan imports the fruit from Taiwan
and Ecuador, Europe from Brazil, and the United States from
Central America. The fruit is very perishable, and easily
bruised, or scarred. And the quality of the fruit depends
entirely upon its appearance. In a word, the appearance
is the quality. In order to protect the fruit from
bruising and scarring, it must be packed in a shipping
container. In addition, the shipping vehicles or ships
must be refrigerated to prevent the bananas from ripening
on the way.

When Taiwan bananas were first exported to Japan,
the bamboo baskets were adopted as the shipping containers.
Although there is no reliable documentation to indicate
why the bamboo baskets were selected to do the banana

shipping job, there are some possible reasons.

65

First, bamboo trees are a tropical plant, they are
easy to grow on this island. Two-thirds of Taiwan is
covered with mountains. The bamboo trees can grow well in
the slopes anywhere in Taiwan.

Second, bamboo handicraft has been fashionable.
Hundreds of bamboo handicrafted products are made in
Taiwan. Most of them are containers of different shapes
and sizes. The production of bamboo baskets for bananas
are the largest share of them. In the past decades, and
still today, the bamboo basket has the lowest cost of all
available containers in Taiwan.

Third, the bamboo baskets are made with an open
work weave. The fresh air can go freely into the basket
and the stagnant air can get out readily.

Fourth, the cost of labor is comparably low in
Taiwan. The bamboo basket is handmade. Packing hands of
bananas in the basket must also be done manually. Although
bamboo basket making and packing consume much labor, the
total cost is less than any other kind of packaging. The
total cost of packaging accounted for 13 per cent of the
export price of banana in 1966.

Banana leaves or bamboo sheaths are used as a
cushion inside the bamboo basket for the bananas. Rice
straw is used to tie the whole basket.

The low cost of the bamboo basket is important in

the banana trade during the past decade because the cost

66

of jettisoned and damaged bananas accounts for a large
portion of the exporting cost.

Early in the second half of 1969 the Board of
Foreign Trade issued an order stating that from that time
on the corrugated shipping container was the standard for
packing exported bananas. At the beginning of 1970, the
bamboo baskets were gone from the wharfs.

There are some other reasons for the revolution of

banana packaging.

A. A bamboo basket used to contain exactly 48 kg.
(almost 106.12 1b.) of bananas. The weight of
48 kg. is too heavy to be lifted up to or down
from transporting vehicle by a single worker. In
general, the drop hazard is the most damaging for
goods of up to about 100 lb. in weight.43 Con-
tainers of about 100 1b. and just above may, if
too cumbersome for handling by one man, be rolled
or pushed out of vehicles. Therefore the baskets
with bananas were always tossed and pushed onto
trucks or into holds of the ship during loading
before they were laid down perfectly in place.
Also they were often thrown down to the ground

from a height of two or three feet. The shape of

of bamboo basket is a cylindrical. Its height is

 

43Blackie & Son Limited, op. cit., p. 6.

67

greater than its diameter. It cannot stand very
steadily alone, so a palletizing machine can do
nothing with the baskets. On the other hand, when
the stacked baskets on the truck or in the ware-
house exceeded two layers, one worker must stay
right on them to take the next basket from another
worker who is working on the ground. Consequently,
loading, tossing, throwing, and rolling damage the

bananas inside the baskets severely.

Damage to bananas in bamboo baskets is extensive.

A new bamboo basket has many holes on the wall,

the bottom, and the cover. In order to protect

the contained bananas from scarring, because the
surface of bamboo strips, which waved the basket,
is rough, banana green leaves or bamboo sheaths

are always put into the basket against the wall,
the bottom, and the cover before filling bananas.
Because of this performance, the effect of venti-
lation of the basket is reduced drastically,
therefore there is less fresh air circulating
freely and the heat produced due to the respiration
of the contained bananas is diffused with diffi-
culty. The temperature inside the basket increases
gradually. Because of the increased temperature
and a shortage of oxygen, the fruits will ripen

quickly. Although the bananas are in the bamboo

68

basket only a few days (one week), they are already
ripened at the end of the journey. Before arrival
at their destination, the ripened bananas have

totally lost their economic value.

The problem of what to do about the used bamboo
baskets and banana leaves or bamboo sheaths used
as cushions also arises after the bananas have
been taken out at the retail stores. The articles
no longer have any economical value at all. If
they are returned to Taiwan for reuse, the cost of
shipping is higher than for new ones. The banana
leaves or bamboo sheaths,'of course, are trashy
too. Neither of them can be recycled. Generally

Speaking, they are disposed of as garbage.

The Board of Foreign Trade frequently received a
lot of telegrams from Japan's importers before 1969.
They complained that using a bamboo basket to pack
the imported bananas has many disadvantages in

comparison with the boxing.

In 1961, Japan started to import a large amount of
bananas in boxes from Central and South America
(Table 11). That year, 11.17 per cent of Japan's
total banana import was from Panama and Ecuador
(Table 12). The year 1970 was the peak year when

55.5 per cent of Japan's total bananas was from

69

 

 

 

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Percentage of Japan's Imported Bananas--
By Origin, 1959-1970

70

TABLE 12

 

 

 

Taiwan Philippines Honduras CREE: Ecuador Others Total
1959 99.70 0.00 . . . . . . 0.30 100.00
1960 96.77 0.18 0.05 2.49 0.03 0.48 100.00
1961 87.74 0.14 0.03 . . 6.58 5.51 100.00
1962 59.40 0.01 . . . . 39.80 0.79 100.00
1963 20.19 . . 0.14 . . 79.57 0.10 100.00
1964 53.12 0.02 . . . . 45.63 1.22 100.00
1965 88.15 0.01 . . . . 9.57 2.27 100.00
1966 80.88 0.08 . . . . 17.16 1.88 100.00
1967 82.10 0.07 0.09 . . 16.49 1.24 100.00
1968 55.71 0.05 4.48 . . 38.58 1.17 100.00
1969 51.40 2.90 8.10 . . 36.00 1.58 100.00
1970 26.20 5.90 0.80 10.50 55.50 1.15 100.00

Source: Taiwan Provincial Federation of Fruit Marketing

Cooperatives:

Taiwan Fruit Yearbook, Taiwan, 1971.

_-IL.\
9

71

Ecuador. The maximum monthly damaged and jettisoned
rate of Japan's import of boxed bananas from
Ecuador was 14.2 per cent in July, 1968, while that
of basketed bananas from Taiwan was 17 per cent in
June, 1966 (Table 13 and 14). Hence, Japan's
importers complained that the shipping distance of
Taiwan bananas to Japan is only one-sixth of that
of Ecuador bananas to Japan, but that the Taiwan
banana damage rate was sometimes higher than
Ecuador's. It was concluded that this was because
Taiwan bananas were packed in bamboo baskets, not
in corrugated boxes. Finally they asked Taiwan
banana exporters to use corrugated shipping
containers instead of bamboo baskets, otherwise,
they would reduce the import price because of low

quality.

In November of 1966, 49 thousand cases of Taiwan
bananas were shipped to Japan (Table 15). It was the first
time in the history of Taiwan-Japan banana trade that the
exported bananas were packed in the corrugated board
containers. Of course, this was an experiment, but the
results were not good enough to permit immediate adoption
of the boxes instead of the baskets.

In late 1968, the same series of experiments with
corrugated shipping containers between Taiwan and Japan

were conducted successively. All the results were sent to

 

 

72

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73

 

 

 

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74

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75

the Board of Foreign Trade for evaluation. They indicated
unanimously that the corrugated shipping containers would
reduce the damage rate and raise the quality of the fruit.
The containers were also accepted by the Japanese importers.
In early 1969, most of the exported bananas (almost 60 per
cent) were then packed in corrugated shipping containers.
After July of 1969, the cOrrugated containers were used
officially for packing bananas exported between Taiwan and
Japan. Finally, all of the exported bananas in 1970 were
packed in corrugated containers.

The dimensions of the corrugated linerboard box now
used for packing the exported bananas in Taiwan are 560 mm.
(almost 22.05 in.) in length; 350 mm. (almost 13.78 in.) in

44 It con-

width; and 230 mm. (almost 9.06 in.) in depth.
sists of four parts; i.e., cover case, body case, U-pad,
and two pieces of side-pad which are made of single wall
corrugated linerboard (Figure 17). Its minimum combined
weight of facings is 138 lb. per 1,000 sq. ft.; its
bursting test of combined board is 17.2 kg. per sq. cm.
(almost 246 lb. per sq. in.).

The cover case has two perforated holes 1.25 inches
in diameter on each long side and one handling window on

each wide side. The side-pad is 335 mm. (13.19 in.) long

and 226 mm. (8.90 in.) wide. The U-pad has 6 perforated

 

44Taiwan Provincial Federation of Fruit Marketing
Cooperatives.

 

76

 

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Q? 69 Cover Case

 

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I «a «2
493/1},3,;;‘;;M

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Figure 17. Parts of a Corrugated Linerboard Box.

77

holes the same size as the cover case. Both the side-pad
and U-pad are used to strengthen the whole case. The last
part is the body which is constructed in the same way as
the cover case.

Since the corrugated boxes were used as the
shipping containers, the damage and jettisoned rate of the
exported fruit has been significantly reduced. The damage I84
rate of the fruit exported to Japan in 1969 and 1970, on

the average, was lower than that of any previous year in

 

(Table 16 and 17). I

However, the damage rate was still higher than
that of Ecuador (Table 14 and 17). It is found that the
damage generally results from lengthy shipment. The
distance from Taiwan to Japan is not very far, only one-
sixth of that from Ecuador to Japan. It is reasonable
that the damage rate of Taiwan's bananas should be lower
than that of Ecuador's due to the shorter distance involved
with the same type of transportation.

Therefore, the damage rate of the exported fruit
cannot be decreased further through better packaging.

There are some reasons which can be held accountable
for the problem now. First, the length of time that the
harvested bananas are exposed to unfavorable environmental
temperatures is too long. As mentioned in the previous
chapter, in the Kaohsiung-Pentung area, after the fruit is
cut off at the plantation it usually takes 12 hours for it

to travel to the warehouse at the Kaohsiung wharf where

78

 

 

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80

it will wait an additional 24 hours before it is finally
loaded on the ship. In the Taichung area, the time from
plantation to the Keelung wharf usually takes 36 hours.
It always stays there at least for another 6 hours before
loading. None of the transport vehicles, trucks or trains
on this island, are refrigerated which means that after
being harvested the fruit will be exposed for from 12 to
36 hours to the natural environment. The average monthly
temperatures from June to September in Taiwan range 26° C.
(78.8° F.) to 28° C. (82.4° F.) and the average relative
humidity is 80 per cent. In this kind of weather, the
fruit ripens naturally before it is loaded into the
holds,45 because the optimum temperatures during the
movement of bananas vary between 52° and 55.5° F. depending
on clone and run (Table 18). In fact, pre-ripening is one
of the big causes of loss in the shipment of bananas.

Second, the highways of Taiwan are in very poor
shape, being very narrow and rough. These cause an uneven
ride which scars the fruit and decreases the stacking
strength of the box.

Third, the temperatures of the warehouse and the
holds are too high. It was reported that the temperature
of the refrigerated warehouse at the Kaohsiung wharf

remains around at 18° C. (64.4° F.) and that the temperature

 

45Simmonds, op. cit., p. 212.

 

81

TABLE 18

Storage Temperatures

 

 

Source Destination Clone Temperature Noted
deg. F.
Tropical North Gros
America, America, Michel
West Africa Europe 53 (l) (6)
Jamaica U.K. Lacatan 55.5 (2) (6)
Trinidad U.K. Gros Michel
Dwarf Cavendish
Lacatan 54 (3) (6)
Brazil Europe Dwarf Cavendish 54 (3) (7)
West Africa France Dwarf Cavendish 52.5 (4) (7)
Samoa N. Zealand Robusta 52-53 (5) (8)

 

Source:

Notes:

N.

(l)
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)
(6)
(7)

(8)

W. Simmonds, Bananas (London, 1966). P. 211.

56° 40 years ago (Fawcett, 1913).
Leach (pers. comm.)--see also text.

Walker (pers. comm.).
Deuilin (1952).
Newton (pers. comm.).

Fruit wrapped in polyethylene.

Fruit parcelled in paper and/or straw--carriage
temperatures therefore probably l.5° F. higher
than hold temperatures quoted (Deuilin, 1952).

Fruit cut and boxed.

 

82

of the refrigerated holds in the ships are kept officially
at l4°-15° C. (57.2°-59.0° F.).46 These temperatures are
not low enough to prevent the fruit from ripening. Maxie
found that banana ripens readily at 62° F.47

Fourth, the damage to the movement of bananas may
be caused by the old refrigerated ships, because the

statistics shows that the higher damage rate the older f-4

ships are (Table 22 and Figure 18). Most of the banana .

 

refrigerated ships are old on the average. There are 22 «
refrigerated ships in Taiwan for the carriage of bananas; J
eight of them whose ages are at the range of 18 to 27 years

old; six are at the range of 12 to 17 years old; only

eight ships are below 11 years old (Table 22). Truely it

was found that sometimes the refrigerating machine of the

old ship did not work well, i.e., it could not keep the

temperatures steadily at l4°-15° C. (57.2°-59.0° F.). By

1970, six refrigerated ships listed in Table 20 were not

permitted to ship the exported bananas, because their

average annual damage and their jettison were too high.

 

46The Board of Foreign Trade, Ministry of Economic

Affairs, Taiwan, China.

47E. C. Maxie, et a1., "Effect of Gamma Irradiation
on the Ripening of Banana Fruits," American Society for
Horticultural Science, Vol. 92 (1968), p. 235.

83

TABLE 1 9

Average Damage Rate of Taiwan Bananas
Exported to Japan--By Ship, 1966-1970

 

 

 

Ship Average Annual Average Annual
Name Made Yeara Damage Rateb Jettisoned Rate
Chen Kuo 1949 3.40 0.97
Chen Hsing 1951 5.12 2.59
Sinteh Reefer 1956 3.25 1.44
.Taitsing 1949 3.10 0.28
Tai Chiao 1965 2.75 0.15
Rich Trader 1966 2.47 0.00
Takasago Maru 1959 I 2.81 0.62
Gyokusan Maru 1960 . 1.71 0.00
Fu Jen 1945 2.87 0.02
Tung Ching 1965 3.64 0.00

 

 

Source: Taiwan Provincial Federation of Fruit
Marketing Cooperatives, Taiwan Fruit Yearbook, 1971.

aCourtesy of the Board of Foreign Trade, Ministry
of Economic Affairs, Taiwan, China.

bIncluding jettisoned rate.

84

TABLE 2 0

Average Damage Rate of Taiwan Bananas
Exported to Japan by Ship

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shlp Average Annual Average Annual
Name Made Yeara Damage Rate Jettisoned Rate
1967-1970
Sinchion Reefer 1947 5.74 2.55
Hai Yi 1955 3.40 1.72
Tai Yuan 1955 2.14 0.00
Wealth Trader 1967 2.23 0.00
1968-1970
Chen Chang 1956 2.11 0.00
Chen Fong 1965 1.59 0.00
Unoon Evergreen 1968 1.96 0.01
Ta Chuan 1948 8.81 7.49
1969-1970
Ta Fong 1953 1.31 0.00
Ta Fu 1953 2.98 0.00
Hai Li 1969 3.28 1.01
Chen Chang 1956 4.40 2.69
Source: Taiwan Provincial Federation of Fruit

Marketing Cooperatives, Taiwan Fruit Yearbook, 1971.

aCourtesy of the Board of Foreign Trade, Ministry
of Economic Affairs, Republic of China.

 

85

TABLE 2 1

Average Damage Rate of Taiwan Bananas
Exported to Japan By Ship,

 

 

 

1966-1969
Shlp Average Annual Average Annual
Name Made Year Damage Rate Jettisoned Rate
Singi Reefer ? 2.68 0.00
Sintah Reefer ? 3.56 0.00
Hai Jen ? 2.37 0.05
Ta Peng ? 3.04 0.05
Comfort ? 5.28 4.28
Taiyuan ? 3.08 0.00

 

 

Source: Taiwan Provincial Federation of Fruit
Marketing Cooperatives, Taiwan Fruit Yearbook, 1971.

86

TABLE 22

Average Annual Damage Rate of
the Banana Ships

 

 

Built Years No. of Ships Average Annual Damage Rate
1945-49 5 5.17%

1950-54 3 3.64

1955-60 6 2.94

1961-64 1 1.71

1965-69 7 2.52

 

Source:

Table 19 and 20.

 

87

 

 

5.17%

5.00 «-
E
3
m 4.00 ~-
In
0 3.64%
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2
g 3 00 I~

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g 2.52%
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C.
c:
4 2.00 7*
G)
0
'0
H
0
i 1.00 1. 1-71%
I l J J L
1950-54 1960-64
1945-49 1955-59 1965-69

Range of Ships Built Years

Figure 18. Relationship of Damage Rate to Bananas and the
Ships' Age.

VI I . CONCLUS IONS

In Taiwan, packaging is not a panacea for the
decrease of damage to bananas in the long distance shipment
to Japan or the United States. An ideal banana packaging
system without quality banana fruit and optimum transpor-
tation conditions, is of little value. On the other hand,
regardless of the efficiency and adequacy of these factors,
without good packaging, the best possible job cannot be
done.

From the discussion in the previous chapters, it
is concluded that with the exception of unfavorable
shipping conditions the corrugated boxes now used in
Taiwan are good enough for the protection of bananas in
shipment. There are several alternative steps that can
reduce the damage, keep high quality of shipped bananas,
and aid the efficient functioning of the corrugated
container.

First, the fruit must be cut off from the tree at
the appropriate time so that it will reach its marketable

state upon its arrival.

88

89

Second, the temperatures of the warehouse and the
ship's holds should be lowered to the standard range 52°
to 55.5° F. to avoid ripening before arriving at the
destination.

Third, refrigerated van-type shippers could be
employed for the carriage of bananas from plantations to
the destination ports or points. This could eliminate a
number of operating steps of loading and unloading the
fruit from the trucks or the trains on the way from
plantations to the final points.

Fourth is to improve the old highways thereby
deminishing the agitation of the bananas, or by building
new and better highways to hasten the shipment of bananas.

Fifth, the renovation of old ships, i.e., re-
placing old refrigeration units with more modern ones, or
the purchase of new refrigerated ships, will aid in the

preservation of bananas.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Textbooks

Blackie & Son Limited. Fundamentals of Packaging. London:
Blackie & Son Limited, I962.

Chen, Chen—Siang. Taiwan-~An Economic and Social Geography.
Vol. 1, Fu-Min Geographical Institute of Economic
Development, Taiwan, 1963.

Grajdanzev, Andrew J. Formosa Toda . New York: Institute
of Pacific Relations, 1942.

Loesecke, Harry W. Von. Bananas. New York: Inter-
science Publishers, Inc., Interscience Publishers
Ltd., London, 1949.

Raphal, Harold J. Packaging: fiAScientific Marketing Tool.
East Lansing, Michigan State University Book Store,
1969.

Simmonds, N. W. Bananas. Bristol, London: Western Printing
Services, LTD, I966.

U.S. Department of Commerce. Investment in Taiwan
(Formosa), 1959.

Valles, Jen Paul, and Praeger, F. A. The World Market
for Bananas, 1964-72. New York, 1968.

Wilson, Charles Morrow. Em ire in Green and Gold. New
York: Greenwood Press, I968.

90

 

91

Periodicals

"Banana Shippers Adopt Polythene." Packaging (January,
1956), pp. 42-43, 860

"Bananas: Last Big Hold-out in Foods." Modern Packaging
(June, 1964), pp. 134-36, 218.

"Corrugated Shipper Changes Banana Marketing Structure."
Food & Drug Packaging, Vol. 3 (November 10,
1960), pp. 1, l4.

Ditton, G. Mann. "The Carriage of Bananas in Refrigerated
Ships." Modern Refrigeration (January, 1958),
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