San Nong Zhongguo reports that the price of bananas prior to Spring Festival was more than 2 yuan [0.32 USD] per 0.5 kg. This price was profitable for many farmers. Now, however, the price of bananas has changed significantly. The price of bananas in many production areas hovers around 1.16 yuan [0.18 USD] per 0.5 kg. This is a drop of around 50%. Some people even think that the price of yellow bananas will continue to drop.
Wang Ping, an analyst at Anhui Baida Zhougudui Agricultural Products Wholesale Market, thinks that this development is just the return of the banana price to a reasonable level. The reason that this price drop seems extreme is because it is compared with the price of bananas prior to New Year. The high price prior to New Year and the low price after New Year both have reasonable explanations.
The seasonal stimulation of consumption stops when New Year is over. Apart from this, there are three main causes that directly influence supply and demand relations in the market. First, the air temperature warms up relatively swiftly when spring begins. Bananas mature quicker under these circumstances, so the supply of bananas increases.
Second, the price of bananas dropped significantly in the beginning of 2017, but recovered in March and April. Therefore, many farmers adjusted the time when they bring bananas to the market. This adjustment continues into March and April of 2018 so that currently a large volume of bananas enters the market all at once.
Third, consumers prefer juicier seasonal fruit such as pineapples and cherry tomatoes now that the spring weather has arrived. This means that consumers are less likely to buy bananas. All these reasons together caused a drop in the price of bananas.
Source: cnr.cn