AU: Mareeba banana industry may keep supply up

The Banana Growers Council says the destruction from Cyclone Yasi will cost the industry $200 million. It'll take six months before bananas are growing in areas like Tully again, with three-quarters of the national crop wiped out. At its peak, the region was sending 450,000 cartons of bananas to market a week. But the Banana Growers Council holds hope that other areas will be able to boost supply, which could stop the price of bananas soaring as high as it did after Cyclone Larry. The town of Mareeba, about 60 kilometres west of Cairns, increased the size of its banana industry after Cyclone Larry. It hasn't been badly damaged.