A shortage of ethylene gas, a key component for ripening imported bananas, is threatening to cause a banana scarcity in Japan. The disruption is linked to the Middle East conflict and Japan's reliance on imported crude oil.

Japan is slipping towards a banana shortage crisis, the latest disruption linked to the Middle East conflict. The reason: the country ships in the tropical fruit while it is still green, then ripens it in rooms filled with ethylene before bunches reach store shelves. Supplies of the naphtha-derived gas are running low in an economy that imports more than 90 per cent of its crude oil. Japan bought about 1 million tonnes of bananas last year, making the fruit one of the country’s most important...