Banana prices have plunged from a peak of NT$150 per kilogram last year to as low as NT$8 per kilogram, leaving farmers struggling to cover production costs as lower-grade fruit is only fit for use as fertilizer.
Due to typhoons impacting southern Taiwan last year, banana production had dropped sharply, pushing prices to a record high of NT$150 per kilogram.
This led banana farmers to expand planting areas, only for prices to steadily decline after.
Photo: Yeh Yung-chien, Taipei Times
Recently, seasonal factors have driven prices further down, as summer fruits such as pineapples, lychees, mangoes and watermelons have entered peak harvest season, leading banana prices to fall to just NT$8 per kilo.
A healthy banana seedling costs NT$12 per plant, and production costs come to about NT$15 per kilo including fertilizer, pesticides and labor, farmers said.
With top-grade bananas now selling for only NT$8 per kilo and lower-grade bananas only fit for use as fertilizer, growing bananas is not profitable and farmers are suffering, they said.
The transition from spring to summer is Taiwan’s peak fruit season, and watermelons, pineapples, lychees and mangoes are all in abundant supply this year, which has lowered demand for bananas, the Pingtung County Department of Agriculture said on Friday.
However, this is only a seasonal price decline, it added.
The department said it has reported the situation to the Agriculture and Food Agency to help expand distribution channels for bananas, increase exports and encourage companies and processing plants to purchase and use the fruit.
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