4 ms·

Want to go bananas? Cargo shipping is as mouch as oil shipping and the most shipped goods are bananas… https://www.eurosender.com/blog/en/most-shipped-items/ h

Want to go bananas? Cargo shipping is as mouch as oil shipping and the most shipped goods are bananas… https://www.eurosender.com/blog/en/most-shipped-items/ https://www.eurosender.com/blog/en/most-shipped-items/

onlyrealcuzzo 5y ago
I will never understand the banana market. How the hell are bananas so damn cheap? It is bananas to me!
- Kye 5y ago
  Monocropping! They keep coming up with new bananas to deal with overproduction making them extinct. edit: The two people who downvoted probably think this is a joke. It is not.
- Synaesthesia 5y ago
  The history of it is very interesting. They were unknown to the world until the United Fruit company marketed them globally. Of course they also ruled very harshly in central america, hence term banana republic.
- bserge 5y ago
  They're really good at ripening on the go? I have no idea, they cost about the same in Europe from Ireland to Romania, which is rather insane. On that note, walnuts are so expensive, meanwhile they grow literally everywhere around here with no special care or anything.
  - lotsofpulp 5y ago
    Walnuts can have very big differences in quality. Yielding a consistent high quality is not cheap.
    - bserge 5y ago
      I've got around 10kg of them from a couple of trees in my garden. I've done zero maintenance, they're just there to keep other shit from growing (walnut trees poison the soil, most weeds stop growing, also because of the shade). All "high quality", the same stuff you get in stores. Walnut trees are used on roadsides, they're perfect for it, zero maintenance, keeps the soil from moving/sliding and kills weeds. Random people just harvest them if they want to. The store prices on them make no sense. Just like bananas :D
      - deleted 5y ago
        [deleted]
      - bratwurst3000 5y ago
        Since some years I just collect walnuts for the whole year and the price puzzled me since… have 25kg+ wallnuts in like 2h. And the fun to be outdoors.
  - onlyrealcuzzo 5y ago
    I don't understand why nuts are so expensive. They sell for almost 10x their wholesale price. They wholesale for ~$1.70 per pound. Peanuts wholesale for ~$0.25 per pound. Yet walnuts sell for like ~$12 per pound and peanuts sell for ~$3 per pound. Most foods that have sell for 10x wholesale price are delicate AND perishable, so a ton of that food goes to waste. Also, grocers reject a lot because of looks. None of this is true with nuts. So why do they retail for 10x wholesale price? I know technically, it's closer to 5x - since they usually retail blanched and the shell is half the weight. Still...
    - bserge 5y ago
      Yeah, they're way too expensive. So is honey, by the way. I get great fresh honey from local beekeepers for like 5 times less than local store price.
  - beerandt 5y ago
    They're shipped in oxygen free containers to prevent ripening and bruises while in transit, and then are over oxygenated to quickly ripen once unloaded to dockside facilities. Before that, shipping distances were limited and the majority of what was unloaded had to be trashed before making it to market. Only one interesting aspect of an extremely interesting historical topic. Highly recommend starting with the story of Samuel Zemurray for those interested in the topic, who sold his company to united fruit then promptly turned around and took charge of it for the next twenty years in a hostile takeover.
- ClumsyPilot 5y ago
  They are paid for in blood. For example, when workers in Collumbia went on a strike, US government got involved, decladed the strike 'communist' and 2000 people were massacred. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banana_Massacre https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banana_Massacre
NavinF 5y ago
That site is pretty sketchy. No sources and no numbers. I also have a hard time believing that “Artwork and Sculptures” is #3. Maybe I live in a bubble, but do people really buy physical art more than once a year? Like I’ve commissioned digital art on several occasions, but I can’t imagine art being a significant chunk of anyone’s spending.
- Too 5y ago
  I bet by count of items jewelery and other Etsy artwork list pretty high, but no way in total volume since they are all very small. Sounds more like a cover category people use to avoid duty taxes. Or the site is completely making up statistic on the spot, looks quite sketchy indeed. There is also concerts and trade fairs shipping a lot of what could be considered artwork around the world.
  - bratwurst3000 5y ago
    Hehe yes this site aint trustworthy at all… just wanted to make a joke :). But bananas are rly in the top 3 cargo shipped goods on most lists Art is used to lounder money … I dont know how much of that makes it via cargo but it has to be something. And sometimes cars and other big things are art. One artwork could easy fit one container … oh and 3d printed stuff. Company have to ship that too …. But arts ranking seems way to high….but searched for us imports and found this … https://www.titlemax.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/the-most-shipped-items-4_tmx.jpg https://www.titlemax.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/the-most...

onlyrealcuzzo 5y ago

I will never understand the banana market. How the hell are bananas so damn cheap? It is bananas to me!

Kye 5y ago
Monocropping! They keep coming up with new bananas to deal with overproduction making them extinct. edit: The two people who downvoted probably think this is a joke. It is not.
Synaesthesia 5y ago
The history of it is very interesting. They were unknown to the world until the United Fruit company marketed them globally. Of course they also ruled very harshly in central america, hence term banana republic.
bserge 5y ago
They're really good at ripening on the go? I have no idea, they cost about the same in Europe from Ireland to Romania, which is rather insane. On that note, walnuts are so expensive, meanwhile they grow literally everywhere around here with no special care or anything.
- lotsofpulp 5y ago
  Walnuts can have very big differences in quality. Yielding a consistent high quality is not cheap.
  - bserge 5y ago
    I've got around 10kg of them from a couple of trees in my garden. I've done zero maintenance, they're just there to keep other shit from growing (walnut trees poison the soil, most weeds stop growing, also because of the shade). All "high quality", the same stuff you get in stores. Walnut trees are used on roadsides, they're perfect for it, zero maintenance, keeps the soil from moving/sliding and kills weeds. Random people just harvest them if they want to. The store prices on them make no sense. Just like bananas :D
    - deleted 5y ago
      [deleted]
    - bratwurst3000 5y ago
      Since some years I just collect walnuts for the whole year and the price puzzled me since… have 25kg+ wallnuts in like 2h. And the fun to be outdoors.
- onlyrealcuzzo 5y ago
  I don't understand why nuts are so expensive. They sell for almost 10x their wholesale price. They wholesale for ~$1.70 per pound. Peanuts wholesale for ~$0.25 per pound. Yet walnuts sell for like ~$12 per pound and peanuts sell for ~$3 per pound. Most foods that have sell for 10x wholesale price are delicate AND perishable, so a ton of that food goes to waste. Also, grocers reject a lot because of looks. None of this is true with nuts. So why do they retail for 10x wholesale price? I know technically, it's closer to 5x - since they usually retail blanched and the shell is half the weight. Still...
  - bserge 5y ago
    Yeah, they're way too expensive. So is honey, by the way. I get great fresh honey from local beekeepers for like 5 times less than local store price.
- beerandt 5y ago
  They're shipped in oxygen free containers to prevent ripening and bruises while in transit, and then are over oxygenated to quickly ripen once unloaded to dockside facilities. Before that, shipping distances were limited and the majority of what was unloaded had to be trashed before making it to market. Only one interesting aspect of an extremely interesting historical topic. Highly recommend starting with the story of Samuel Zemurray for those interested in the topic, who sold his company to united fruit then promptly turned around and took charge of it for the next twenty years in a hostile takeover.
ClumsyPilot 5y ago
They are paid for in blood. For example, when workers in Collumbia went on a strike, US government got involved, decladed the strike 'communist' and 2000 people were massacred. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banana_Massacre https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banana_Massacre

NavinF 5y ago

That site is pretty sketchy. No sources and no numbers. I also have a hard time believing that “Artwork and Sculptures” is #3. Maybe I live in a bubble, but do people really buy physical art more than once a year? Like I’ve commissioned digital art on several occasions, but I can’t imagine art being a significant chunk of anyone’s spending.

Too 5y ago
I bet by count of items jewelery and other Etsy artwork list pretty high, but no way in total volume since they are all very small. Sounds more like a cover category people use to avoid duty taxes. Or the site is completely making up statistic on the spot, looks quite sketchy indeed. There is also concerts and trade fairs shipping a lot of what could be considered artwork around the world.
- bratwurst3000 5y ago
  Hehe yes this site aint trustworthy at all… just wanted to make a joke :). But bananas are rly in the top 3 cargo shipped goods on most lists Art is used to lounder money … I dont know how much of that makes it via cargo but it has to be something. And sometimes cars and other big things are art. One artwork could easy fit one container … oh and 3d printed stuff. Company have to ship that too …. But arts ranking seems way to high….but searched for us imports and found this … https://www.titlemax.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/the-most-shipped-items-4_tmx.jpg https://www.titlemax.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/the-most...