Sweetness and Curvature

 This piece on Sahyadri Grapes was a revelation to me. 

It appeared on on ThePlate, an interesting publication I had not come across earlier; the style of writing was chatty and engaging and I learnt a whole lot of things about farmer-producer companies that are setting new benchmarks for the production and export of fruits and vegetables.

I was particularly surprised to learn about the barriers faced by Indian exporters in getting their products cleared, especially in the European markets. While some of these barriers, such as limits to pesticide residue, seem quite sensible from the point of view of health and wellbeing of the consumers, some others seem completely whimsical, bordering on Euromyths. The EU, it seems, sets standards on the curvature of bananas and limits the sweetness of fruits imported into their common market.

What exactly are these standards? Why were they adopted?

Curvature of Bananas: European Commission regulation 2257/94 decrees that bananas in general should be “free from malformation or abnormal curvature”. Those sold as “extra class” must be perfect, “class 1” can have “slight defects of shape” and “class 2” can have full-scale “defects of shape.” This standard applies to bananas of the varieties (cultivars) of Musa (AAA) spp., Cavendish and Gros Michel subgroups.

Far from being a whimsical, curvature of a banana seems to be a good indicator healthy growth - the amount and sunlight the plant was exposed to during its growth phase, and the resulting distribution of hormones.

Sweetness of Fruits: The Brix scale is used to measure the sweetness of fruits such as grapes. Article 50(2)(a) of Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council on quality schemes for agricultural products and foodstuffs. 

According to the Plate article, "..the Brix content for grapes to Europe must range from 16 to 20 degrees, whereas the Indian palate prefers sugar content 24 degrees or higher". The relevant EU regulations however seems to set only minimum limits for sweetness, ranging from 12-14 degrees on the Brix scale.

There have been reports of export consignments getting rejected for exceeding limits on pesticide content in the fruits, but have there been cases where a rejection has happened due to excessive curvature or sweetness? 

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REFERENCES & LINKS

* Why are bananas bent? - https://uniquetimes.org/the-curious-case-of-curved-bananas-why-are-they-bent/

* https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/bendy-bananas-why-are-they-staying-eu-rules-b1080788.html

* https://www.forbes.com/sites/timworstall/2016/05/12/to-properly-explain-the-eus-bendy-bananas-rules-yes-theyre-real/?sh=4bcf67a86fc9

* https://www.cbi.eu/market-information/fresh-fruit-vegetables/table-grapes/market-entry

* https://unece.org/sites/default/files/2023-02/FFV10Carrots_2021_e.pdf

* Measuring sweetness - https://www.refractometer.eu/scales-for-sweetness-measuring

* https://www.yara.co.uk/crop-nutrition/grapes/managing-grape-sweetness/

* https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:52020XC0615(01)&rid=1

* Chaptalisation - process of adding extra sugar to grapes! - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaptalization

* https://www.freshpoint.com/news/understanding-brix-is-a-higher-number-always-better/

* APEDA Guidelines (2007) - https://apeda.gov.in/apedawebsite/Grapenet/regu_fresh_grapes08.pdf

* Banana export guidelines - https://www.corpseed.com/knowledge-centre/export-banana-from-india

A Banana in Afghanistan

I was stunned today - by a banana!

Just after I had finished my breakfast in Kabul, I went across to the fruit counter and found three options - mandarins, apples and bananas. Of the options available the banana seemed the most 'user-friendly' - easier carry in your bag, to peel and eat.

Surprisingly, this particular variety looked perfectly ripe, but was not so easy to peel. Curious to know the variety I turned it around to find a sticker on one side. It said "Sabastiano Premium Eduador"!

Let that sink in. Here in Kabul, Afghanistan, I was holding in my hand one of the great wonders of global supply chain logistics. Here was a fruit grown by farmers on the opposite side of the globe in South America, transported across the seas and mountains, covering a distance of more than 15,000 km before it reached its destination - a DFAC dining hall.

While writing a blog in 2014, I had learnt that three companies - Chiquita, Dole and Del Monte - controlled more than 60 percent of global banana exports. 

In  tropical South Asia which is home to dozens of varieties of bananas available at much cheaper rates, it is a wonder how commercial logic enables agricultural products to travel insane distances!


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LINKS

* Banana production in Ecuador - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banana_production_in_Ecuador

* DW (Jan., 2018) - https://www.dw.com/en/world-in-progress-toxic-banana-production-in-ecuador/av-42098343

* Sharbatly Fruit - http://www.sharbatlyfruit.com/

Going Bananas

A recent article in the EPW, titled "GM Crops and Global Trade" points out that - "one company controls two-thirds of banana germ plasm of the world, four companies have 30% global market of seeds, and just six multinationals account for 77% of the pesticide market."

This got me curious.

How is it possible for one company to control two-thirds of banana germplasm? Does this mean that it has a hold over the myriad banana varieties dangling at a fruit-vendor's stall in Kerala?

If something seems out of place, it probably is.

According to the International Musa Germplasm Transit Center (ITC-Belgium), the center is "home to the world’s largest collection of banana (Musa) germplasm". ITC has over 1400 sample of edible and wild species of banana, cryo-preserved at -196C. Most importantly, it is not owned by any company and is therefore "freely available for international distribution upon request".

Perhaps the EPW article meant to convey that two-thirds of banana trade is controlled by one company. But even this is contrary to a recent FAO report which states -

FAO's review of the three largest banana traders (Chiquita, Dole and Del Monte), shows that the combined market share of the top three companies was at its highest the 1980's, when they controlled almost two-thirds (65.3 percent) of global banana exports, while in 2013, their market share was slightly over one-third (36.6 percent).

The global banana market is worth US$ 7 billion. Amazingly, nearly all the trading happens in only one variety of banana: Yellow-skin Cavendish.

Contrast this with the amazing variety of bananas available in South India. Even the humblest fruit-seller would have on display, at least five different types of the fruit on any given day. India's National Horticulture Board lists more than 11 varieties of banana including - Robusta, Rasthali, Poovan, Nendran, Red-Banana (Kappa Pazham), Virupakshi, Panchanadan, Monthan and Karpuravalli!

So, far from controlling two-thirds of banana germplasm, the MNCs have only focused one single variety. It is as though all the florists in the world were stocking only roses or as though all the eateries were serving just burgers.

This also one reason why the supermarkets will never overrun the local  kirana shops and chaya-kada's -- they just cannot offer ten different types of bananas!


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REFERENCES & LINKS:

* Singh, Sukhpal (2014): GM CROPS AND GLOBAL TRADE, EPW, 18 October 2014 -- http://www.epw.in/commentary/gm-crops-and-global-agri-trade.html

* ITC Belgium - http://www.bioversityinternational.org/research-portfolio/conservation-use-of-bananas-tree-crops/international-musa-germplasm-transit-centre/

* (Reuters, 27 OCt 2914) -- http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/10/27/us-chiquita-brands-m-a-cutrale-safra-idUSKBN0IG16J20141027

* FAO - The Changing Face of Global Banana Trade - http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/224807/icode/

- FAO Full Report (2014) - http://www.fao.org/docrep/019/i3746e/i3746e.pdf

* CGIAR - http://cropgenebank.sgrp.cgiar.org/images/file/procedures/collecting2011/Chapter3-2011.pdf

* National Horticulture Board (NH‌B), India - Banana Varieties - http://nhb.gov.in/fruits/banana/ban013.pdf

Wiki - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banana
- Enset - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ensete_ventricosum -- 'False Banana' grown in Ethiopia for its edible roots!