Chinese banana prices fall below cost line

Harvest season has arrived in China and once again the banana prices have dropped. Although there is not a clear expansion of the banana market in China, the Chinese imports of banana rise while at the same time a large amount of domestic grown bananas enter the market. Resulting in an over supply. This is the main reason why the banana prices are low in China.

In August this year, China imported 5.5704 million tons of bananas, the total costs of this import is 246.7 million Yuan. The total banana import to China from January to August this year was 77.1398 million tons, this is an increase of 26.5 % compared to last year.

The lowest price of an ordinary Chinese grown banana is currently 1.5 Yuan per kilo. The highest price is 1.7 Yuan per kilo. The recent drop of the Chinese wholesale market prices is substantial, while the decline in price of imported bananas is relatively small. With 2.4 Yuan per kilo being the lowest price for the bananas from the Philippines and South Africa. The highest price at this moment is 2.9 Yuan per kilo.