PLANTATIONACCORDING TO ASPROCAN IT IS THE SUBSECTOR THAT GENERATES THE MOST FULL-TIME JOBS.

For the Association of Banana Producers of the Canary Islands (Asprocan) Banana cultivation currently holds the leadership in terms of agricultural activity on the Islands., since it is at the head both in volume and value of production.

At the same time, This is the subsector that generates the most full-time employment throughout the year., variables, all of them that show their key weight in the economy of the Islands, fruit largely of its important export character, which allows it to generate a carry-over effect on other activities, especially in import.

The data provided by Asprocan shows that, right now, banana production is around 370.000 tons of bananas annually, that are generated in the 9.100 hectares of crops existing in a total of six Islands.

Among its peculiarities, the plantain cultivation area includes:, for the most part, specifically the 82%, These are small farms that have less than one hectare. This peculiarity makes the mechanization of the crop very difficult., which in turn leads to an increase in production costs.

Cultivation costs represent three-fifths of the total cost, while packaging tasks translate into another fifth of the costs. However, Marketing costs are equivalent to one tenth of these costs..

[quote]The sector produces 370.000 tons 9.100 hectares distributed over six islands and generates 12.000 annual full time jobs, according to Asprocan.[/quote]

Of the 370.000 annual tons produced, The sector shows a different distribution by islands. In this case, Tenerife is the island with the highest production, with almost a 42%, followed by La Palma, with the 34%, and Gran Canaria, with the 22%. In the case of La Gomera, El Hierro and Lanzarote represent around the 2%.

Its weight in the Canarian economy as well as the jobs it generates and the number of families that live from this crop, make the activity generated by banana cultivation cannot be compared with any other agricultural subsector.

According to studies carried out by the University of La Laguna, Both the banana cultivation process and the packaging process make the greatest contribution to the value of final agricultural production., surpassing the 282 million euros.

Although it is a less labor intensive crop than others aimed at export, It has also become the agricultural activity that generates the most direct employment if the annual average of full-time equivalent jobs is taken into account.. Right now, 12.000 Annual full-time jobs in the Canary Islands depend on the banana sector.

The cost of labor per hectare in banana cultivation and packaging is around 16.500 euros per hectare, with which the wage bill generated by banana cultivation exceeds 150 million euros annually from both salaried work and own work.

Regardless of the weight of the sector's income, one of its most important assets comes from the influence it has in other sectors and ranging from irrigation water, to transport at origin, the cardboard industry, facility maintenance, pallet factories, machinery imports, fertilizers, pesticides, plastics or fuels, with an added value due to this additional effect close to the 130 million euros per year.

The cultivation cost structure, packaging and marketing also allow us to glimpse the knock-on effects on companies that participate in the supply of inputs for the production process or that carry out the marketing of fruit and the cost of imports of products marketed in refrigerated containers from the Peninsula..