The flavour of bananas has a lot to do with the ripening process. During the often long trajectory from tree to mouth, ripening is a core task within the logistical supply chain. “Generally, the slower the ripening process, the better the quality. However, bananas are a proper commodity, it’s all about the lowest price,” says Chris Maat of Interko. “Some customers want the ripening process to be as fast as possible, and they’re really asking for a Formula 1 car. It’s possible, but that ‘car’ won’t have a reverse gear. Once the ripening process has started, there’s no way back, and a changing market can no longer be anticipated.”
Chirs Maat, Interko
Energy needs and air composition are the most important parameters for customers when designing a ripening installation. After all, these are major debit items, particularly in countries where energy prices are rising. To be able to build the right ripening chamber, getting the right supply chain information is crucial. The difference in approach makes conversations challenging, according to Chris. The ripening techniques to be used are actually the final pieces of the answer to two basic questions: where do the bananas come from, and which market or customer do you serve? “Ripening bananas is a logistical link in the supply chain. We’re dealing with everything: from optimising air flow to adjusting for various formats of boxes and attuning logistics. To do that well, you have to properly understand the front and back of the process. We can overcome such challenges, we have the techniques but implementing the right information is a requirement,” Chris explains.
Bananas are harvested green and unripe and transported towards the sales market. Ripening has to occur as closely as possible to the consumer, preferably within a radius of 50 kilometres. After all, ripened bananas are much more vulnerable than unripened bananas. Information regarding the origins of the bananas is therefore of great importance. How long are the bananas on the road, how starchy are they, have they been in contact with outdoor air or was the transport conditioned, and was the air composition checked? The trajectory after ripening is just as important as the pre-trajectory. “Do you want to ripen full containers for budget bananas in supermarkets or do you want quality bananas for high-end customers? Generally, we’ve noticed that the Netherlands and Germany ripen quickly for supermarkets that care about prices. In Asia, loose bananas dominate the market, and the bananas are ripened longer. The US has more quality awareness for fruit that has a good flavour, but cutting plants also want flavourful bananas for fruit salads, so we take longer to ripen the bananas.” This way, each pallet or box has its own ‘ripening recipe.’
In the more than 50 years that Interko has been supplying ripening solutions, they’ve seen both supply chain and consumer demand changing often. “We continue to adjust to the requirements of the market and we talk about the various logistical requirements of each ripening installation with the customer. We now build ripening installations from Argentina to Japan and everywhere in between. The smallest installation we ever built was for one box, the largest was for 72 pallets, but a lorry or container is more typical. For a while now, we’ve offered Ultimo ripening chambers for large amounts of fruit, and the Axesso room for customers who have to ripen more accurately. Last year, we introduced Optimo, a turnkey ripening installation that can quickly be installed but that can also easily be adjusted to changes in the volume capacity required. There’s a lot of demand for this system globally.”