People in the Chinese banana industry say that the price of bananas will likely increase again since market demand began to grow in the middle of March. More and more visiting traders are traveling to banana production areas in China's southwest and the increased demand pushes the price up. However, the banana supply from production ares in Myanmar and Laos experienced difficulties at their respective borders with China. The supply problems affected production areas in various degrees.
A banana farmer from the north of Myanmar stated that Myanmar has a large domestic banana market that can absorb the banana supply redirected from the problematic border. Large banana plantations redirect supply to the domestic market and their price remains relatively stable, in some cases the price even slightly increased. Smaller plantations, however, suffer from greater price fluctuations.
However, as the congestion continues, transport costs increase, which puts pressure on the price of bananas in production areas in north Myanmar. The temporary accumulation of bananas awaiting transport forces the price down, in some areas by as much as 1 yuan [0.15 USD] per kg.
