Where Fruit is Produced
Figs. 58, 59. Coconuts and bananas are the most valuable of the tropical fruits, and both are
grown throughout the tropics, except in regions of slight rainfall. Although coconuts are much
used for food in tropical countries, their value to the rest of the world comes from the dried meat
(called copra) and the oil pressed from it. Coconut products form one of the leading exports of
the Philippine Islands. Bananas are an export crop chiefly in Central America and the West
Indies.
mala, Honduras, Costa Rica, and Panama. From this region we
import about 60,000,000 bunches of bananas annually, or about
half a bunch for each person in the United States. Ask the fruit
dealer how many bananas an ordinary bunch contains; then
decide whether you eat your share.
Western Europe draws its banana supply largely from the small
islands off the northwestern coast of Africa, such as Madeira, the
Canary Islands, and the Cape Verde Islands. Recently it has
drawn some from the West Indies.
Europeans do not eat nearly so many bananas and oranges as we do.
On the other hand, they consume far more grapes, partly fresh and
partly in the form of wine.
Transportation costs. It might be thought that because bananas
are raised so easily they ought to be much cheaper than they are on
our market. But when we consider the railroad system that must
be built and maintained to collect the fruit from the great
plantations and carry it to tropical ports, the fleet of ships to bring