Farmind

In Japan, ethylene shortage may cause bananas to ‘disappear’ from dining tables

In Japan, ethylene shortage may cause bananas to ‘disappear’ from dining tables The closure of the Strait of Hormuz has squeezed the supply of the naphtha-derived gas that Japan uses to ripen the fruit The reason: the country ships in the tropical fruit while it is still green, then ripens it in rooms filled with ethylene before bunches reach store shelves. Supplies of the naphtha-derived gas are running low in an economy that imports more than 90 per cent of its crude oil.