Banana is the most popular fruit that can be found throughout the year. The largest exporters are: Ecuador, Costa Rica, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Philippines, Suriname, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Guatemala, and France (Martinique & Guadeloupe) etc.
After being harvested they get to the great ports of the world by ship from where they are carried to banana ripening warehouses and from there they are delivered to the stores.

The largest importer of bananas is the European Union.
Green bananas are stored at 13-14 degrees C, and can be kept 4-5 weeks maximum but the ripening process can be made according to the market demand, namely immediately or after 1, 2, 3 weeks.

The ripening process is made in special chambers, as it follows:
- bananas are unloaded in these chambers at 13-14 degrees
- they are heated up to 18 degrees
-the ripening by gassing 24 hours starts
-after this they are cooled back to 14-15 degrees to be delivered to the stores.

Bananas are evaluated by ripeness, size and variety.
The most popular variety that can be found in the stores is Cavendish.
By color:
- color 2, green – the banana is very hard, it is not edible and tastes like raw potato
- color 3, green to yellow – the banana is after ripening process and is on the way to the supermarkets
- color ¾ -4, more yellow than green, can be already consumed and is sweet, usually they get in this state to the shelves of the stores.
- color 5, the banana has the best taste, is very sweet and completely yellow.
- color 6, very ripe, starts to have black spots but still with a very aromatic, sweet taste.

Usually they are packed in cardboard boxes of 18-19 kg.
Banana sizes:
- extra - over 22 cm
- premium - minimum 20 cm
- I class - 18 – 20 cm
- junior - 14 cm
- baby - 8 -10 cm

We distinguish two kinds of bags in which bananas are packed:
- polybag: this does not require cutting for gassing because it is perforated and lets both ethylene and air pass through the cardboard
- banavac: it has to be cut at both ends of the board in order the ethylene to be able to pass through the interior... it is not perforated.