After three years of an uncertain situation on the market, banana farmers are monitoring the changes in prices in 2018 particularly closely. The reduction of banana planting areas, typhoons and leaf diseases have had a tremendous effect on Chinese banana production. Meanwhile, the total amount of bananas on the market has increased because of imports. Nevertheless, experts remain optimistic about 2018. In the past three years, the troubles have happened right at the time when bananas should have entered the market. As a result, there were disruptions in supply. In 2017, during the peak of the season, a large number of bananas in Guangxi were discarded.
In 2016 and 2017, the number of imported bananas in China increased and their price went down from 4.29 to 3.71 yuan per kilo. Professor Wang Fang, an economic expert in the banana industry, pointed out that the average annual import of bananas is over 1 million tons. These bananas are mainly sold in the middle and high-end markets, while the quality of local bananas is not high enough for this segment. It is clear that the Chinese banana industry needs to develop to meet the needs of consumers, which have increased significantly in the few last years.
Source: Agricultural Science and Technology Newspaper