Imported fruit is saturating the market
China: Banana prices fall trough the floor
Currently there are few bananas from Hainan province, as its harvest season is mainly before October, followed by bananas from Guangxi Autonomous region. Hainan bananas are just starting to come to the market in late December.
Why is the banana price so low this year? Mr. Li Shuai, analyst from Sci99, explained that this year the plantation area of bananas expanded, and the market is saturated. Despite the fact that the main supply regions' banana harvest season varies, now comes the season where all their supply periods overlap, which leads to a bigger market supply than actual demand. As a consequence, the banana price continues to drop. Another reason for this is the imported Philippine bananas, now there are better bilateral relations between the two countries. Moreover, imported bananas are also arriving from South America. All these factors lead to the continous drop of banana prices.
Mr.Li's analysis is further confirmed by Mr. Wang. According to him, the banana price is also related to the weather this year. As winter approaches, the weather is warmer than in previous years, which is very beneficial for banana growth. Based on his previous experiences, if the weather continues to get colder, the market supply of bananas will drop and accordingly, its price will go up.
At another fruit store next to that of Mr. Wang's, a speaker keeps reminding the consumers that the banana price is as low as 2.6 Yuan/kilo. According to this store's owner, the low price position applies not only to bananas, but also to other fruits. Therefore he reduces the banana price to even wholesale level, in the hope that he can attract more customers to purchase bananas as well as other fruits.
source: http://www.ql1d.com/