The objective of this research was to determinate the physics and economic banana's loss and its possible reason, in several retail trades in the city of Botucatu - SP. The equipments were drawn aleatory. The information were collected through questions applied to people to determine the annual loss of three different varieties of banana. The results showed that all loss was 39 ton., that represents 11,1% of all saled in retail trades, with 10,5% in supermarkets, 15% in grocery store/retail shops, and 10,6% in free markets. The retail trade showed an annual loss of R$ R$ 35.038,00, in values of may/2002. The excessive handling by the client, excess offering inadequate packing, and low quality of fruit were the most important cause of losses. It was possible to conclude that, the client's behavior should be better, the plastic packing utilization, and caution in the handling during all the post harvest process.
banana; loss; retail
