With less than a month to go before the Spring Festival, the period in which bananas are prepared for the market has just started. Since the beginning of last year banana prices have been depressed. This price increase is a powerful development. The banana price in production areas has recently averaged 1.89 yuan [0.3 USD] per 0.5 kg. That is an accumulative increase of 3.8%.
The banana price will be significantly higher than last year during the approach to the Spring Festival. The price increase can reach 150% to 200% compared to the same period last year. The main reason for this development is that last year the bananas from major production areas in Yunnan, Laos, and Burma arrived late on the market in March. Not only is the production volume currently barely 30% of the production volume last year, colder weather conditions also slowed down banana growth. This has made it very difficult for visiting merchants to find good products.
Analysts estimate that the banana price will continue to rise. Add to this the small production volume and the unfavorable weather conditions, it is estimated that banana prices in production areas will remain high throughout the Spring Festival.
Source: news.cina.com.cn