The current Cavendish banana variety accounts for 47% of all global fruit consumption and 99% of all global banana exports.
A quick dig into history tells us that before the 1950’s, a creamier and sweeter variety called the Gros Michel (“Big Mike”) was the primary banana consumed world wide. Unfortunately the Gros Michel was completely wiped out by the Fusarium Wilt (aka Panama disease, aka Tropical Race 1 – TR1), a deadly strain of fungus.
In case you didn’t know, all commercial banana plants are clones. This makes them extremely susceptible to disease epidemics. So when the Gros Michel was wiped out, farmers switched to the more resistant but less tasty Cavendish.
Unlucky for all fans of the Cavendish banana like myself, a new strain TR4 was discovered in the 1990’s. TR4 has already spread all over southeast Asia including China Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and even northern Australia. As it spreads, the fungus is wiping out entire plantations of Cavendish bananas.
We’ve been unable to stop the fungus. And do don’t we have a replacement banana.
So, the next time you take a bite out of this fruit, enjoy it as much as you can – because the clock is ticking for the extinction of the banana as we know it.