The international banana trade is worth around US$10 billion each year, with annual exports amounting to approximately 12 million tonnes. Only the Cavendish variety is exported but there are hundreds of other varieties. The banana is the most popular fruit in the world, and the fourth most important staple food crop after rice, wheat and maize. Latin America accounts for 80 percent of world banana exports, and the major banana exporters are Ecuador (4½ million tonnes per year), Costa Rica and Colombia (1½ million tonnes each). The main producer is India with 17 million tonnes, but none of the bananas are exported. Overall, only about 25 percent of all bananas produced are exported, and the most prominent companies involved in the trade are Chiquita (formerly known as the United Fruit Company) and Dole each with a 25 percent share, and Del Monte with an eight percent share. Chiquita and Dole are U.S.-owned, while a Chilean-based company controls Del Monte. The film attempts to assemble all the various elements of the banana trade to highlight the North/South split between consumers and producers.

Bananas possess a unique scientific phenomenon called “negative geotropism.” As the little bananas start to develop, they grow downward–as gravity would dictate. Little by little, several “hands” or double rows develop vertically and form a partial spiral around the stem. As they take in more and more sunlight, their natural growth hormones bring about a most puzzling phenomenon, and they begin to turn and grow upward. As the plant becomes heavier with maturing fruit, it must be supported with poles. The stems are made of layers and layers of leaves that are wrapped around each other. Though quite large and thick, the stems are not strong and woody like most fruit trees and can break under the weight of many bunches of bananas.

Though there are approximately 300 species of bananas, only 20 varieties are commercially cultivated. Local populations and visitors who experience the regional cuisines when they travel enjoy the many non-commercial varieties. Members of the Musaceae family, the banana plant belongs to the monocotyledons, a group that includes palms, grasses, and orchids. Bananas are mature about three months from the time of flowering, with each bunch producing about 15 “hands” or rows. Each hand has about 20 bananas while each bunch will yield about 200 “fingers” or bananas. An average bunch of bananas can weigh between 80 and 125 pounds (35 to 50 kilograms). Two-man teams harvest the bananas. While one man whacks the bunch with his machete, the other catches the falling bunch onto his shoulders and transfers it to a hook attached to one of a series of conveyer cables that run throughout the plantation. Though bananas can be left to ripen on the plant, they would perish too quickly. It is important that they are harvested in the green state at just the right time. If harvested too early, they would develop a floury pulp instead of a delightfully sweet flavor.