How many cluster bags does an 18.14 kg banana box take?

Between 14 and 20 when all the fruit is packed in clusters of 3 to 6 fingers (0.9 to 1.3 kg per bag), and between 8 and 12 in mixed programmes that combine clusters and loose hands. A 13 kg box takes 10 to 14. The exact number depends on the fruit calibre and the destination supermarket's specification, so fix it with the receiver before closing the number of packs.

How many polypacks and cluster bags does a 40 ft reefer of bananas need?

With 48 boxes per pallet and 20 pallets, a 40 ft high-cube reefer carries 960 boxes and needs 960 polypacks (or banavacs), about 2 rolls of 500 and 46 kg of film at 18 microns, and between 13,440 and 19,200 cluster bags in a 100 percent cluster programme (67 to 96 packs of 200, 58 to 84 kg). If the fruit is loaded without pallets, calculate on 1,080 boxes. Round up to full rolls and packs and add 2 to 3 percent for line waste.

What size and gauge is a banana polypack?

The most used reference sheet in the Andean trade is 41.5 by 51.5 inches (105 by 131 cm) in 0.7 mil LLDPE, about 18 microns, with 2 half-inch perforations per face; other packhouses use 98 by 108.3 cm. The roll of 500 weighs 23.1 kg net, that is 46 g per bag. The vacuum banavac is ordered plain, without perforations, and usually in 35 to 50 microns so that it survives the vacuum and the seal. The polypack is always cut to the box format, which is why the outer dimensions of the box are a mandatory data point for a quotation.

What size and gauge is a banana cluster bag?

The reference sheet is 9.5 by 15 inches (24 by 38 cm) with a 2 inch gusset, in 1.0 mil LDPE (about 25 microns), with 8 quarter-inch perforations per face in 2 columns and 4 rows, which ventilate 0.27 percent of the surface. It comes in packs of 200 weighing 0.87 kg, about 4.35 g per bag. It is made open-mouth, with a header or on a wicket for faster packing, and printed in up to 8 colours with the exporter's or the supermarket's brand.

How many bunch covers are needed per hectare and per box?

Each bunch wears one cover from shooting to harvest, 10 to 12 weeks later, and yields between 1.0 and 1.3 boxes of 18.14 kg depending on calibre and the farm's packing ratio; that is why planners count 0.8 to 1.0 covers per exported box or, seen from the farm, as many covers as bunches are bagged each week. A 90 by 150 cm cover at 25 microns weighs 50 to 60 g, so 10,000 boxes of fruit consume about 450 to 600 kg of cover. Bunch covers are ordered per hectare in bagging and per week, not per container of fruit.

How far ahead should banana bags be ordered from Asia?

Add 3 to 4 weeks of production from artwork approval and 30 to 45 days of ocean transit to Guayaquil, Puerto Bolivar, Limon, Moin, Santa Marta or Puerto Quetzal, plus port clearance: confirm the order 10 to 12 weeks before the packing week and have the bags in the warehouse 2 weeks before the January to April peak. For an urgent top-up, polypacks and cluster bags can fly in 7 to 10 days; bunch covers and corrugated boxes, because of their weight and volume, cannot. Our Davao plant ships to Philippine packhouses in days, not weeks.

How Many Polypack Liners, Cluster Bags and Bunch Covers a Banana Box, a Pallet and a 40 ft Reefer Need (18.14 kg / 40 lb Box), What They Weigh, and When to Order

Fuxing Development Group · Updated October 27, 2026 · For banana exporters and packhouses in Ecuador, the Philippines, Costa Rica, Colombia, Guatemala and Peru, and for importers and ripeners who specify the pack · Versión en español

Quick answer: One export banana box of 18.14 kg (40 lb, the 22XU type) takes 1 polypack liner (or 1 banavac if the programme ships under vacuum) and, when the fruit is packed in clusters for supermarkets, 14 to 20 cluster bags of 3 to 6 fingers (0.9 to 1.3 kg each). In the field, every bunch wears 1 bunch cover and yields 1.0 to 1.3 boxes, so plan on 0.8 to 1.0 covers per box. With 48 boxes per pallet and 20 pallets in a 40 ft high-cube reefer (960 boxes; up to 1,080 floor-loaded), one container needs 960 polypacks (about 2 rolls of 500, 46 kg of film), 13,440 to 19,200 cluster bags (67 to 96 packs of 200, 58 to 84 kg) and 770 to 960 bunch covers. The reference sheets used in the Andean trade set the polypack at 0.7 mil (about 18 µm) LLDPE with 2 half-inch holes per face and the cluster bag at 1.0 mil (about 25 µm) LDPE with 8 quarter-inch holes per face; vacuum programmes specify 35 to 50 µm. From Asia the transit to Guayaquil, Puerto Bolívar, Limón, Moín or Santa Marta is 30 to 45 days: confirm the order 10 to 12 weeks before the packing week. The 12-item quote checklist is at the end of this page.

Why the banana bag is the most repeated consumable in the trade

Ecuador shipped more than 377 million boxes of bananas in 2025, 3.5 percent more than in 2024, with nearly 33 million boxes in December alone; the European Union took 31 percent, Russia 20 percent, the Middle East 15 percent, the United States 12 percent and South America 7 percent. The Philippines, the Asian origin our Davao plant serves, exported 3.0 million tonnes in 2025, up almost 29 percent on 2024, and returned to second place in the world behind Ecuador's 6.5 million tonnes, holding 75 to 80 percent of Japan's imports. Every one of those boxes carries at least one polyethylene liner; the ones that go to self-service retail also carry one bag per cluster; and every bunch they came from spent 10 to 12 weeks inside a field cover. In consumables, that is well over 600 million liners a year between the two largest origins, several billion cluster bags, and hundreds of millions of bunch covers. At that scale a 2 µm difference in gauge, or 5 bags per box in the plan, becomes tonnes of film and containers more or fewer.

Fact	Figure	What it means for the bag order	Source
Ecuador exports 2025	Over 377 million boxes (+3.5 %); nearly 33 million in December; EU 31 %, Russia 20 %, Middle East 15 %, U.S. 12 %, South America 7 %; China +16 %, Türkiye +30 %, Argentina +17 %	377 million polypacks and roughly 300 to 380 million bunch covers a year from one origin; the EU and Russian programmes are mostly cluster-bagged	ACORBANEC via Fresh Fruit Portal, February 2, 2026
Philippines exports 2025	3.0 million tonnes (+29 % from 2.33 million t); world No. 2 again; 75 to 80 % of Japan's banana imports; China's second supplier after Vietnam; about US$600 per tonne	At 13 to 13.5 kg per carton, on the order of 220 to 230 million cartons and liners a year, almost all from Mindanao; Japan and Korea programmes are cluster-bagged and brand-printed	FAO via FreshPlaza and Manila Bulletin, September 28, 2026; carton arithmetic ours
World 2025	Ecuador 6.5 million t, nearly 32 % of global banana exports; Philippines second	The two origins we serve from Davao and from South China set the global standard for the 18.14 kg and 13 kg box and their liners	FAO via FreshPlaza, September 28, 2026
Unit of calculation	18.14 kg (40 lb) box, 48 boxes per pallet, about 20 pallets per 40 ft reefer	Every count on this page scales from these three numbers; change one and the order changes with it	Port Economics, Management and Policy, banana handling chapter

Liner and cover counts are simple arithmetic on the box totals and ignore domestic fruit and processing; read them as orders of magnitude. This page is packaging guidance, not phytosanitary, customs or market advice: Agrocalidad, the Philippine Bureau of Plant Industry, Costa Rica's SFE and the destination authority govern.

The three bags and their reference specifications

The gauges, dimensions and perforation patterns below are the published technical sheets of a Colombian converter that supplies Uniban, Tropical and Fyffes programmes, as listed in the Fyffes specification catalogue; they are the most common starting point in Ecuador, Colombia and Central America and a sensible reference for Philippine packhouses, which run the same box logic at 13 kg. Fuxing manufactures all three formats in 20 to 50 µm, printed or plain.

Bag	Where it is used	Reference dimensions	Reference gauge and perforation	Presentation and weight
Bunch cover (field bag, bunch sleeve)	Slipped over the bunch at shooting; protects from insects, rubbing and sunburn for 10 to 12 weeks	Tube 80 to 95 cm wide and 140 to 170 cm long, on a roll or pre-cut; blue, clear or treated, with or without impregnation	LDPE 0.4 to 1.0 mil (10 to 25 µm) with UV stabiliser; perforated to ventilate and avoid condensation	Roll or bale; 50 to 60 g per 90 × 150 cm cover at 25 µm (our arithmetic)
Polypack (box liner, polybag) and banavac (vacuum liner)	Lines the 18.14 kg or 13 kg box; keeps humidity and regulates gas exchange during the voyage	Reference sheet 41.5 × 51.5 in (105 × 131 cm), tolerance ± 1 in; other plants use 98 × 108.3 cm; always cut to the box format	LLDPE 0.70 mil (about 18 µm, ± 10 %) with 2 half-inch perforations per face (2 columns × 1 row), dart impact 59 g; the vacuum banavac is ordered plain, unperforated, usually 35 to 50 µm	Roll of 500 (± 1 %), 23.11 kg net, 23.82 kg gross, that is 46 g per bag; also flat-packed in bales
Cluster bag (retail bag, CP bag)	Wraps 3 to 6 fingers for supermarkets; carries the brand, the barcode and the consumer message	Reference sheet 9.5 × 15 in (24 × 38 cm) with a 2 in gusset; open-mouth, header or wicketed	LDPE 1.0 mil (about 25 µm) with 8 quarter-inch perforations per face (2 columns × 4 rows, 0.27 % open area); also micro- or macro-perforated; print up to 8 colours	Pack of 200, 0.87 kg net, that is 4.35 g per bag

Polypack and cluster-bag figures: Polyban Internacional technical sheets EB Polypack Plus 70 R500 and plain cluster bag, published in the Fyffes catalogue (2026); the 98 × 108.3 cm alternative from the PolyPack PPS7 sheet in the same catalogue. Banavac and bunch-cover micron ranges are what Ecuadorian and Central American programmes specify and can be adjusted to your ripening protocol. Gauge selection is covered in our Spanish banana bag micron guide; the three bag types and their photos are on the banana bags page.

Consumption per box, per pallet and per container of fruit

Planning base: the 18.14 kg box, 6 boxes per layer and 8 layers = 48 boxes per pallet, 20 pallets = 960 boxes per 40 ft high-cube reefer; if the fruit is floor-loaded without pallets, up to 1,080 boxes. An average cluster of 3 to 6 fingers weighs 0.9 to 1.3 kg, so a box packed 100 percent in clusters takes 14 to 20 bags; many programmes mix clusters and loose hands and come down to 8 to 12.

Bag	Per box	Per pallet (48 boxes)	Per container (960 boxes)	Per week of 10 containers
Polypack or banavac	1	48	960 (1.9 rolls of 500)	9,600 (19.2 rolls)
Cluster bag, 100 % cluster programme	14 to 20	672 to 960	13,440 to 19,200 (67 to 96 packs of 200)	134,400 to 192,000 (672 to 960 packs)
Cluster bag, mixed programme	8 to 12	384 to 576	7,680 to 11,520 (38 to 58 packs)	76,800 to 115,200
Bunch cover (1.0 to 1.3 boxes per bunch)	0.8 to 1.0	37 to 48	740 to 960	7,400 to 9,600

If your box is 13 kg (28.6 lb), the Philippine and Japanese standard, keep 1 polypack per box and reduce the cluster bags to 10 to 14 per box; the 13 kg pallet also usually runs at 48 boxes. Always round up to full rolls and packs and add 2 to 3 percent for line waste. Carton specifications for both box sizes are on our banana carton manufacturer page.

What the order weighs and how much space it takes

The figure that decides whether a bag travels by sea or by air, and whether it fits with the corrugated boxes in the same container, is the weight per thousand boxes of fruit.

Bag	Reference unit weight	Per 1,000 boxes of fruit	Per 10,000 boxes (one week of 10 containers)	Remark
Polypack 105 × 131 cm, 18 µm	46 g	46 kg (2 rolls)	460 kg (20 rolls)	At 30 µm it weighs about 77 g and the order 770 kg per 10,000 boxes
Cluster bag 24 × 38 cm, 25 µm, 16 per box	4.35 g	70 kg (80 packs)	700 kg (800 packs)	8-colour print does not change the weight, only the lead time
Bunch cover 90 × 150 cm, 25 µm	50 to 60 g	45 to 60 kg	450 to 600 kg	Ordered per hectare and bagging week, not per container of fruit

A programme of 10 containers a week consumes, between polypacks and cluster bags, about 1,100 to 1,200 kg of film a week, that is 14 to 16 tonnes a quarter. That volume fits comfortably with the corrugated boxes in one 40 ft high-cube, which is why it pays to order bags and boxes from the same supplier and receive them in the same shipment: one customs clearance in Guayaquil, Limón or Davao and one freight bill. How boxes and PP corrugated plastic crates share a container is in our produce export packaging guide.

Calendar: when to confirm so the peak week does not run out of bags

Milestone	When	What must be closed
Ecuador shipping peak	January to April, with a second rise in November to December (ACORBANEC reports peaks in the second and fourth quarters)	Polypacks, cluster bags and covers in the warehouse 2 weeks before the first peak week
Philippines (Mindanao) programmes	Year-round, with Japan and Korea contracts renewed around the new year; typhoon season July to November disrupts port calls	Weekly call-offs from our Davao plant; printed cluster bags approved before the contract week
Factory production	3 to 4 weeks from artwork approval	Cluster-bag artwork, gauge, perforation, units per pack
Ocean transit from Asia	30 to 45 days to Guayaquil, Puerto Bolívar, Limón, Moín, Santa Marta or Puerto Quetzal	Order confirmed 10 to 12 weeks before the packing week
Urgent top-up	7 to 10 days by air	Cluster bags and polypacks only; bunch covers and boxes do not fly

In practice: what is packed in January is confirmed in October; what is packed in April is confirmed in January. If your protocol changes from perforated polypack to vacuum banavac, give one shipment's notice: the gauge, the perforation and the weight of the order all change. Philippine packhouses supplied from Davao work on a different clock, because the bags and the 13 kg cartons leave the same industrial estate in days.

The 12 data points that turn an enquiry into a quotation within 12 hours

#	Tell the supplier	Why it matters
1	Bag type: bunch cover, perforated polypack, vacuum banavac, cluster bag, or all three	Each has its own film, gauge and converting line
2	Box format (18.14 kg type 22XU, 13 kg or special) and boxes per week in high and low season	Sets the liner size and the roll and pack counts
3	Dimensions in cm or inches, or a physical sample of the bag you use today	We cut to your box, not to a catalogue
4	Gauge in microns or mil, and whether your ripening protocol needs an exact value or accepts a range	2 µm changes the weight of the order and the behaviour in the reefer
5	Perforation: hole diameter, holes per face, columns and rows, or micro-perforation	Decides gas exchange and condensation in transit
6	Film colour and, for the cluster bag, number of print colours, artwork and barcode	Plates and artwork are the longest lead-time item
7	Presentation: roll, flat bale, pack of 200, wicket or pre-cut, and units per bundle	Matches your packing line and warehouse
8	For bunch covers: hectares in bagging, bunches per hectare and bagging weeks per year	Covers are ordered per farm week, not per container
9	Total quantity per quarter and split by shipment; whether corrugated or PP corrugated plastic boxes go in the same container	Schedules the factory and consolidates the freight
10	Date you need the bags in the warehouse and delivery point: Guayaquil, Puerto Bolívar, Machala, Limón, Moín, Santa Marta, Puerto Quetzal or Davao	Fixes the sailing and whether air freight is needed
11	Certifications required: food-contact declaration, ISO 9001 and ISO 14001, SGS report, FSC for the cartons	Lets your customer's QA sign off before samples ship
12	Incoterm (FOB loading port or CIF destination port) and currency	The quotation can then be compared line by line

Polypacks, banavacs, cluster bags, bunch covers and the 13 kg and 18.14 kg cartons, from one supplier

Fuxing Group manufactures bunch covers, polypack and banavac liners and cluster bags for bananas in 20 to 50 µm, printed in up to 8 colours, and the corrugated cartons that go with them, in Dongguan (China), Hai Phong (Vietnam) and Davao and Calamba (Philippines), with ISO 9001, ISO 14001, FSC and SGS verification. Our Davao plant supplies banana export programmes in the Philippines, the largest Asian origin, for brands such as Sumifru, Unifrutti and Del Monte Philippines, and we ship bags and boxes in one container to Ecuador, Costa Rica, Colombia and Peru. Send the 12-point checklist, or simply a photo of the bag and the box you use today; we reply in English or Spanish within 12 hours with gauge, perforation and presentation for each bag, the weight and volume of the order and, if you need them, the cartons in the same container, and we send physical samples of each format for your line trial.

Quote on WhatsApp Email jacky@fuxinggroup.cn

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Frequently asked questions

How many cluster bags does an 18.14 kg banana box take?: Between 14 and 20 when all the fruit is packed in clusters of 3 to 6 fingers (0.9 to 1.3 kg per bag), and between 8 and 12 in mixed programmes that combine clusters and loose hands. A 13 kg box takes 10 to 14. The exact number depends on the fruit calibre and the destination supermarket's specification, so fix it with the receiver before closing the number of packs.
How many polypacks and cluster bags does a 40 ft reefer of bananas need?: With 48 boxes per pallet and 20 pallets, a 40 ft high-cube reefer carries 960 boxes and needs 960 polypacks (or banavacs), about 2 rolls of 500 and 46 kg of film at 18 microns, and between 13,440 and 19,200 cluster bags in a 100 percent cluster programme (67 to 96 packs of 200, 58 to 84 kg). If the fruit is loaded without pallets, calculate on 1,080 boxes. Round up to full rolls and packs and add 2 to 3 percent for line waste.
What size and gauge is a banana polypack?: The most used reference sheet in the Andean trade is 41.5 by 51.5 inches (105 by 131 cm) in 0.7 mil LLDPE, about 18 microns, with 2 half-inch perforations per face; other packhouses use 98 by 108.3 cm. The roll of 500 weighs 23.1 kg net, that is 46 g per bag. The vacuum banavac is ordered plain, without perforations, and usually in 35 to 50 microns so that it survives the vacuum and the seal. The polypack is always cut to the box format, which is why the outer dimensions of the box are a mandatory data point for a quotation.
What size and gauge is a banana cluster bag?: The reference sheet is 9.5 by 15 inches (24 by 38 cm) with a 2 inch gusset, in 1.0 mil LDPE (about 25 microns), with 8 quarter-inch perforations per face in 2 columns and 4 rows, which ventilate 0.27 percent of the surface. It comes in packs of 200 weighing 0.87 kg, about 4.35 g per bag. It is made open-mouth, with a header or on a wicket for faster packing, and printed in up to 8 colours with the exporter's or the supermarket's brand.
How many bunch covers are needed per hectare and per box?: Each bunch wears one cover from shooting to harvest, 10 to 12 weeks later, and yields between 1.0 and 1.3 boxes of 18.14 kg depending on calibre and the farm's packing ratio; that is why planners count 0.8 to 1.0 covers per exported box or, seen from the farm, as many covers as bunches are bagged each week. A 90 by 150 cm cover at 25 microns weighs 50 to 60 g, so 10,000 boxes of fruit consume about 450 to 600 kg of cover. Bunch covers are ordered per hectare in bagging and per week, not per container of fruit.
How far ahead should banana bags be ordered from Asia?: Add 3 to 4 weeks of production from artwork approval and 30 to 45 days of ocean transit to Guayaquil, Puerto Bolívar, Limón, Moín, Santa Marta or Puerto Quetzal, plus port clearance: confirm the order 10 to 12 weeks before the packing week and have the bags in the warehouse 2 weeks before the January to April peak. For an urgent top-up, polypacks and cluster bags can fly in 7 to 10 days; bunch covers and corrugated boxes, because of their weight and volume, cannot. Our Davao plant ships to Philippine packhouses in days, not weeks.

Sources

ACORBANEC (Asociación de Comercialización y Exportación de Banano del Ecuador) via Fresh Fruit Portal, Ecuadorian banana exports soar past 377 million boxes, posting 3.5 percent growth in 2025, February 2, 2026: total boxes, December volume, destination shares and growth by market; the Spanish original on Portal Frutícola, January 28, 2026.
FAO data via FreshPlaza and Manila Bulletin, Philippines returns as world's No. 2 banana exporter in 2025, September 28, 2026: 3.0 million tonnes (+29 %), Ecuador 6.5 million tonnes and nearly 32 % of world exports, Japan share, China ranking, average value per tonne.
Polyban Internacional S.A.S. technical sheets published in the Fyffes specification catalogue (2026): EB Polypack Plus 70 R500 (41.5 × 51.5 in, 0.70 mil LLDPE, 2 half-inch perforations per face, 500 per roll, 23.11 kg net); plain cluster bag (9.5 × 15 in with 2 in gusset, 1.0 mil, 8 quarter-inch perforations per face, 200 per pack, 0.87 kg); PolyPack PPS7 98 × 108.3 cm.
Box weight of about 40 lb (18 kg), 48 boxes per pallet and about 20 pallets per reefer: Port Economics, Management and Policy, banana handling chapter (Hofstra University). Cluster bags per box, boxes per bunch, bunch-cover weight and the per-container and per-week conversions are Fuxing Group planning estimates derived from those sheets; verify them against your fruit calibre, your receiver's specification and your ripening protocol. No prices, minimums or firm lead times are given here: ask for them in the quotation.