Banana plantations cover hundreds of hectares of land in Guadeloupe and are one of their main economic assets. 70,000 tons are exported annually, however hurricane Maria's 260km/hour winds have destroyed all the plantations and since the 18th September 2017 no bananas have left the island.
6 months on the situation has improved, but on some plantations hundreds of the banana trees will not continue to grow for another two or three years. However, there is hope on the plantations where the trees were just broken, rather than torn out from the roots, and some are even starting to produce again. Producers will have to be patient and wait another couple of years before production volume and income is back to normal.