From the 1920s, the unloading of bananas at Avonmouth was partly mechanised. Fyffes built a special berth at Avonmouth for their banana ships. A railway track encircled the transit shed, and the dockers unloaded the bunches of bananas directly into the railway vans. A canvas hoist brought the stems of bananas out of the holds, and conveyor belts moved the stems around the transit shed.

Over 200 casual dockworkers were taken on to unload the ship by hand, usually over several days, moving the stems to straw lined, steam-heated railway vans that helped to ripen the fruit on its way to market in London and Birmingham. Avonmouth supplied Jamaica bananas to the whole of the country south of Birmingham.