GREEN GOLD OF ECUADOR

bananas are gold green gold to a country filled with huge contrasts and unequaled natural beauty tucked between Colombia and Peru this country is a veritable shangri-la as gay as a fiesta as new as tomorrow its churches architecture reflecting its Spanish heritage it's bargains galore its bullfights spellbinding we'll have a look at the banana world of Ecuador coming up now on el mundo I'm ville singer creator of the television series el mundo the world its 196 million nine hundred fifty one thousand square miles of oceans and continents it's three billion 291 million people and for every square mile for every person there is a story most of the stories are simple and ordinary yet the world is quickly shrinking with the advent of the supersonic jets but there's still a place as fresh as spring as new is tomorrow and as fragrant as a summer breeze in just such a place is the amazing country of Ecuador South America a land of eternal spring this time we'll explore this amazing country and a unique story we found there join me now as el mundo presents the green gold of Ecuador [Music] as the name implies Ecuador is crossed by the equator it's about the size of Italy in square miles and hosts some of the most fantastic scenery found anywhere cities such as Guayaquil and Quito the capital have facilities as modern as New York or Los Angeles yet all the charm of another world everywhere you looked contrasts upon contrast why Akhil is the port city visited by ships from every free nation all this visiting attracts tourists and bargains the Galapagos Islands 500 miles off the coast abound with unique bird and marine life unequaled uninhibited the colorful presidential guard reflect the era of the conquistadors the annual guest Akito attracts the top Matadors of the world and visitors from near and far coloured galore under clear blue skies [Music] [Applause] [Music] the folkloric dances of the country reflect the inner beauty of the Equatoria note and another kind of gold [Music] and this is hacienda los alamos ecuador a short flight from Guayaquil where bananas are grown with love and affection where the growing culturing harvesting of the banana plant is an art and a science the banana story begins long before the soil preparation but in sequence clearing testing ploughing are all a part of the first step the engineers make frequent stops in this area to obtain soil samples to outline planting zones the banana is really a giant herb it has an underground stem from which roots and leaves grow prior to planting this stem or seed as it is sometimes called must be carefully trimmed cleaned process since each see is capable of producing successive crops over a number of years after this trimming the seeds are placed in a wire type basket and immersed in a temperature-controlled liquid to eliminate any unwanted bacterial agents there are a number of good reasons for choosing the banana story as a subject for ill mango although bananas are grown exclusively in the tropics they are consumed by people in practically every country in the world bananas are one of the major products of international trade second only to milk as the world's largest volume ready-to-eat product they are without doubt the world's most widely consumed fruit from a relatively insignificant production area at the end of World War two ecuador became the world's largest exporter with an export volume three or four times that of its closest competitor the seed now ready for planting in the rich alluvial soil 14 months from this day a stem of approximately 80 pounds of green gold will be ready for harvesting between now and then the caring culturing handling of the plant will amaze you there is truly more to polishing this goal than meets the eye about four months later the banana plant begins to look like the plant we know but it'll be another six months before the blossom and ensuing fingers begin to emerge at that time the plant will reach a height of 15 to 30 feet the fertilization of the plant is carefully programmed and charted at all times in accurate and individual history is available all of this is under the direct supervision of the engineer responsible for each particular stage of development here we see Senor Corolla the president of Alamos with engineer Vella's measuring growth of the young plants against the planting log and obviously all is well this far ok you need a that better take the better question is yes that's buddy - how are ya perfect for 4 months in the 10th month of growth the blossoms appear and gradually open revealing the young tender banana fingers held within the fingers pointing downward at first and then upwards towards the Sun as they grow larger it is at this point on most plantations that the fingers are individually checked and the flower or buttons are removed of course this does vary from plantation to plantation country to country but at Alamos many new innovations are developed and tested many are continued some too costly to maintain but always towards a better end product periodically on a scheduled basis hand spraying is applied to the plants and the young fruit this spraying protects from pests prevent possible disease and actually acts as an immunization for the plant just as our vaccinations protect us from virus infections that may even be carried through the air across the sea meanwhile periodic aerial fumigation is applied to all stages of growth for protection against Johnson spot a fluffy white powder is sprayed into the clear plastic bags just prior to their encasement of the stalk quite sometime before harvesting before the bags are attached to the stalks there again inspecting sometimes placing small plastic sleeves over the fingers which might project into another and cause a scar the bag is carefully pulled up tied and will remain until cutting day every stalk on every plant is covered this way to protect against possible damage pruning the plants removing young followers stalks is another necessary part of harvest preparation the plant bears fruit but once and then a young follower stem takes over to continue the cycle the plants have been supported in various ways to brace them for the ever-increasing weight from the growing bananas if a plant were not properly supported this would happen and damage to the fruit during the 14th month final calibration takes place to assure the proper size of the banana and to make sure that the cutting is on the day it is to be shipped to the port of call any deviation in size or quality would be carefully noted and handled accordingly up to this point our young seed has been pampered nurtured irrigated tested the development has progressed just according to schedule from this point on the stalk must be handled with utmost care to prevent bruising or damage which might not show up until your supermarket the stalk is placed on a cushion brace checked for balance delivered to a waiting train the plant itself is cut down left to rejoin and enrich the soil from which sprouted the cutting continues all year-round because the plants bear fruit at various times to ensure a continuous product while all of these preparations may vary between the banana producing countries of Latin America all receive utmost care in growing and handling at every stage of development and delivery the stalks are hung with swing space between as the train proceeds to the processing and packing plant the plastic bags are removed and discarded they have served well their purpose several cars are hooked together and proceeded from every corner of the plantation towards home base all at a moderate speed is part of the damage prevention plan the impacted aura the packing plant is kept immaculately and eagerly awaits the bullion soon to shed its protective green and show its true golden color each stalk having been checked and rechecked prior to arriving is now ready for a cutting of the clusters or hands this systematic handling of the hands requires perfect coordination of the handlers the clusters are placed in a vast washing tank surrounded by cool water where they're cleaned inspected again cut into smaller clusters if necessary and dipped into a final protective solution as you see a vast amount of labor is necessary because of the perishability of the fruit weighing the fruit 42 pounds per container is also a part of quality control ever wonder how they put all those little red labels on the bananas well no machine ever touches our star this is one of the young men who carefully attaches the identity labels from here a sealant is painted onto the crown and then still one more final inspection before the gold leaves the mint frequently standard fruit company inspectors visit the plantations they buy from in Ecuador they exchange information help with quality control inspecting make spot calibrations Senor Corolla demonstrates that all the fingers are above the minimum for size and length Monday Hakata que los dedos he no puedo encontrar un de lo que tenga is the man yo Minamoto stealing and marks muy grande por la ruta de la mano not another negative in a few hours the bananas will be on their way to see to market to our homes even the cartoons are fabricated right here at Alamos and notice the coordination in both these stages of work the box has been formed stamped stapled passed on to the covering team all in a matter of seconds this train will carry the covered protected cartons to the port of Alamos where they are transported by barge to the ship the V stands for Vacarro back in 1898 salvador D'Antoni along with joseph luca and felix Vacarro established the standard fruit and steamship company in New Orleans the company's origin is still recognized by the large B on its fleet of chartered refrigerated ships here at the port of Bolivar the still green bananas are loaded aboard the specially equipped ships for transport to America and foreign markets standard fruit Ecuador's largest exporter also has plantations in Honduras in Costa Rica shipping cabana bananas mainly to the United States but also as far away as Europe and the Far East as the cartons are loaded into the whole of the ship they are counted and inspected again it takes about six days from Ecuador to Long Beach California as an example and during this time temperature and humidity factors are closely watched [Music] once arrived at its destination the ships are immediately unloaded the cartons are sent on their way here at the two million dollar terminal at the Port of Long Beach we see one of the nation's most modern and efficient banana terminals equipped to handle fruit with maximum care and speed new technical and engineering features within the terminal are designed to unload a box of bananas in one minute from chips hole to waiting truck or rail cars this unique and efficient loading system minimizes tie-up of transportation equipment and moves millions of pounds of bananas to market writing on rail tracks each gantry is surprisingly maneuverable capable of adjusting two different sizes of ship the arm of the gantry extended to the very bottom of the ship permitting the unloading of several deck levels simultaneously eight powered conveyer turns gently but efficiently swing the fruit into the proper truck or rail car and the loading system is completely flexible allowing fruit from any point in the ship to be routed to any area of the terminal such special attention to detail is what makes this terminal different provides the extra care and handling that brings us all better bananas [Music] even the conveyor pads give a gentle and smooth ride to avoid any damage or jarring to the fruit watch seeing is believing [Music] we have seen an amazing and true story of the planting growing harvesting of the much-loved banana we've seen the careful concern handling of the fruit but the banana story doesn't end here the bananas leave in refrigerated temperature controlled trucks and rail cars they carried the precious tropic fruit to our modern supermarkets and stores [Music] it is still several days before the magic moment when the green gold becomes of age and turns into the luscious succulent golden fruit we know and enjoy today bananas at their very finest nature at its very best even in the supermarket special care must be given to the handling and presentation of the tropic fruit for today's sophisticated shopper demands the best trained produce men display and care for our star bananas at the same low price they were ten years ago [Music] bananas are best purchased when still slightly green tempt in please ladies don't squeeze our star once at home the fruit has dozens of destinations deliciously serve this printers with sausages as a delicious instant breakfast combined with orange juice milk maybe an egg for extra energy [Music] banana pancakes make an eye and palate appealing breakfast too for dinner chicken salvadore a delicious Central American main course as a vegetable bananas Almondine with steak or lamb [Music] as a salad or dessert with gelatin most by appealing [Music] for a party a champagne or ginger ale punch with bananas and fresh strawberries [Music] for a truly spectacular dessert a do-it-yourself banana flambe just add brown sugar cinnamon rum or brandy and a match whele but gassed the resistance for our banana story of the green gold of Ecuador [Music] you