The participation of Lavras in the banana production offered to the local commerce is still very low considering that Brazil is the second banana producer of the world, with a production around 6.6 ton/year and per-capita consumption of 24.4 kg/year. Minas Gerais ranks in the fifth place among the most important Brazilian state producers. This research was carried out between 2002/2003 and 2004/2005, aimed to quantify Lavras participation in the banana market in the period considered. Monthly, a questionnaire was applied in the main produce commercial centers in Lavras, in order to assess the commercialized amount and the origins and losses of banana of the main cultivars during their commercialization chain. The results show that in 2002/2003, 945.24 ton was commercialized while this value reached 1,001.98 ton in 2004/2005. From this volume, 6.56% in the first phase and 14.6% in the second phase had the origin in Lavras. A 6% increase was verified from the first to the second phase. The per capita consumption was kept around 11.8 kg/year. The 'Prata' banana was the most commercialized in Lavras, representing 54.7% and 58.7%, in the first and second phase, respectively. In the first phase, 7.9% was from Lavras region and 18.3%, in the second phase. The amounts of 'Marmelo' banana and of 'Nanicão'-like were 1.91% and 28.40%, respectively. The 'Marmelo' banana produced in Lavras was kept around 84.00% in both phases, while the 'Nanicão'-like was 84.0% and 3.43% in the first and second phase, respectively. The 'Maçã' banana had a reduction of 125.30 to 107.47 ton correspondent to 13.26% and the participation of Lavras in its production was around 13.8%. The 'Maçã' and 'Marmelo' bananas presented the lowest losses, 3.56% and 4.78%, whereas those like 'Prata' and 'Nanicão' showed the highest losses, 9.39% and 10.75%, respectively.
Commercialization; origin; losses; Musa spp
