My father, Wim (Willem) de Graaf, started the Amsterdam Fruit Trade CV in 1957 or 1958 in the main building of the Central Markthallen; he traded in dried fruits. He began with one hall and later acquired the adjacent second hall. On the first floor of these halls, he established the banana ripening facility for bananas with the brand Sundrop. At that time, the bananas were still imported from Antwerp and were attached to the trunks/stems on which the fruits grew in Ecuador. They were transported to Antwerp in refrigerated ships and placed in chambers heated to a specific temperature to ripen the bananas slowly. Afterwards, they were packaged in wooden crates and sold.

As a young girl, I earned extra pocket money by covering the empty wooden crates with purple paper and cardboard. My older brother started working in my father’s business at the age of 14; he later took over the business from my father, and eventually his son took over the company. Throughout the years, all members of our family have worked there, some for shorter periods and others for longer. I myself worked in the company for nearly 6 years, mainly in the accounting department, and I have fond memories of the Central Markthal, both in terms of the atmosphere.

PS. The woman next to my father (in the black coat) in the photo is my mother.