Banana market still at a low ebb

"The banana market in the 2013-2014 period was unusually prosperous, driven forward by huge economic profits. In a short period of time, the Chinese banana cultivation surface increased with 30%. Moreover, many fruit farmers valued volume over quality and failed to invest in further processing and quality control and low quality bananas were the result. Because of the combined effect of these two reasons, the market price of bananas experienced a deep fall downward in 2015. This depression on the market also endures this year," says Mr. Jameson, of Dalian Jiawei Import and Export. 

Price of imported bananas stays low
"The sales peak for imported bananas is from December until April. After April, Chinese bananas hit the market in large numbers and the demand for imported bananas gradually decreases. Without any doubt, the low banana prices on the market not only influence the prices of China-produced bananas, but also holds down the price of imported bananas. With 70 RMB to 80 RMB for factoring costs as a standard for a case of imported bananas, the highest price in the 2013-2014 period reached 100 RMB for a case. In 2015 on the other hand, the lowest price has gone as low as 50 RMB per case. In 2016 this price has gone up slightly to 60 RMB per case."

"The largest quantities we import during the peak period can reach 5 to 10 containers (40FT). We estimate that the import volumes this year will be about the same as last year. Next year's situation is still very difficult to predict. If many cultivators and sellers discover how difficult the business is, they may reduce the cultivation surface or turn toward other fruits. In that case, the banana market may still recover."

Clear advantages of imported bananas
"We mainly sell our imported bananas to regions North of the Yangtze river, in places like Shenyang, Beijing, Harbin, etc. Compared to China-produced bananas, the main advantage of imported bananas is their quality. The bananas benefit from growing in the good natural environments of Ecuador and the Philippines. The bananas produced there are very fine in taste and they are bigger, which is exactly what the consumers in the North require. In terms of price difference, consider that the China-produced bananas are also transported from the Southern production areas to the North, so the transport cost is included. In the end, consumers don't have to pay much more for their imported bananas compared to Chinese bananas."

"Our company was founded 5 years ago and is based on the idea that quality is fundamental. Before we start accepting import orders, we first rigidly test samples of the bananas and we send out technical staff to the local production area to observe whether the quality is guaranteed at the source. Currently, we are looking for banana exporters in the Philippines and Ecuador to develop business together."

Mr. Jameson
DALIAN KAWOO IMPORT AND EXPORT CO
http://en.kawoo.net/
Telephone: +86 138 0495 0095
Email: kawoo@kawoo.net