Japan Faces Banana Shortage as Conflict Disrupts Gas in Economy Importing 90% of Crude
Updated
Updated · Bloomberg · Jun 1
Japan Faces Banana Shortage as Conflict Disrupts Gas in Economy Importing 90% of Crude
2 articles · Updated · Bloomberg · Jun 1
Japan is sliding toward a banana shortage because supplies of ethylene—the gas used to ripen imported green bananas before sale—are running low.
More than 90% of Japan’s crude oil is imported, leaving the economy exposed as Middle East conflict disrupts supplies of naphtha, the feedstock used to make the ripening gas.
The squeeze shows how the conflict is spreading beyond energy markets into food distribution, hitting a supply chain that depends on controlled ripening before bananas reach store shelves.
Does Japan's banana shortage reveal a fatal flaw in our global supply chains, beyond just oil politics?
A Mideast crisis threatens Japan's food supply. Can recycled cooking oil and bio-naphtha provide a real solution?
First bananas, then diapers. How will the Mideast conflict reprice everyday goods on Japanese store shelves?