Many kinds of fruit became more expensive around the Chinese Spring Festival [February 5th, 2019] because consumer demand greatly increased. This was particularly true for such high-status products as greenhouse strawberries, Hainan Unicorn watermelons, and seedless grapes. The high prices left consumers speechless. In March, when the influence of the Festival is only a memory, the majority of fruit prices have come down to reasonable levels. The price of bananas, for example, is relatively stable in fruit markets all over China. In some areas the price even slightly decreased.
Why did the price of bananas decline in some areas? Cherries, tomatoes, pineapples, and Hami melons enter the market when the weather warms up. As the supply of seasonal fruit grows, so does the overall supply to fruit markets. Such staple fruits as bananas face growing pressure from seasonal fruits and have to lower their prices to compete.
While February has both Spring Festival and Lantern Festival, and April has Tomb-Sweeping Day, March has no festival, and consumer demand for bananas is weak. The price is therefore unlikely to rise, which means that the banana price remains stable or declines in consumer markets, even though the banana price in production areas continuously rises.
