October to November is the peak season for Guangxi bananas and, usually, prices fall and sales are slow. But this year has been different and growers are feeling optimistic about the market.
In 2016, the banana planting area in Guangxi reached an annual peak of more than 1.8 million mu. After three years of market downturn and the incidence of blight, the Guangxi banana industry has undergone a reboot and the planting area has been decreasing. The banana planting area in Guangxi in 2018 was less than 600,000 mu, of which about 500,000 mu is planted in large-scale banana gardens.
In the past few years, Guangxi's bananas accounted for more than 50% of the total area. The daily shipments were between 30,000 and 30,000 tons. In a short period of time, bananas were listed in large quantities, often with a shortage of workers, shortages of transportation vehicles and low prices. However, according to incomplete statistics, the area of bananas in Guangxi in October this year did not exceed 300,000 mu, only about one-third of the same period last year.
In addition to the reduced planting area, another major reason for the market situation is the low quality and low yield. Tu Zhongyi said that the weather in Guangxi was stable this year, and there was no high temperature impact during the harvest season. The proportion of “fat banana” was small. Moreover, it is understood that the Wuming production area was affected by frost. This year, the yield of bananas is generally low. In the past it was 60 kg/plant, this year it's only 40 kg/plant, and the yield per mu was reduced by about one kilogram.
Source: Agricultural Finance Network Banana