Data from ncw365.com shows that the banana price in production areas rapidly increased in early March. In the brief period of 10 days, the average banana price went from 3.15 yuan [0.47 USD] per kg to 3.65 yuan [0.54 USD] per kg. The banana price in in Laos and Myanmar followed suit. Data from Xinhua News Agency shows that the price of Emperor bananas increased by more than 40% between late February and March 11th.
Why did the banana price explode in March? The main reason for this development is supply shortage. At the moment only production areas in Yunnan, Laos, and Myanmar supply bananas to the Chinese market. Production areas in Yunnan only have around 30% of their supply volume left, and around 50% of the surface area devoted to banana plantation in Laos still awaits transport. Supply from Myanmar is slightly better. The production areas in Myanmar still have around 70% of their supply volume left.
Weather conditions cause further price increase
Production areas in Yunnan, Laos, and Guangxi suffer from poor weather conditions with excessive rainfall in February and March every year, which complicates harvest and transport, and slows down supply. The trade volume is relatively small, and at the same time the poor weather conditions slow down the development of bananas. Bananas from many production areas do not enter the market until the middle of March. This leads to a gap in the market in early March.
Source: ncw365.com