San Jin City News
December 1, 2009

Today's San Jin City News introduces its readers to the plight of Guangxi banana farmers with an unusual front-page headline:

Shanxi businessmen order 33,000 tons of slow-selling bananas!

Nanguo Metropolis Daily contacts this paper to thank the people of Shanxi

The article, by reporter Pan Chunjuan, urges readers to save rescue Guangxi farmers by buying more bananas:

Since the beginning of November, more than 900,000 tons of bananas have languished unsold in Guangxi. The price has dropped from 1.4 yuan per kilo in mid-October to 0.2 yuan per kilo now. Banana planters were wracked with anxiety at the losses they were facing. On November 29, emergency negotiations resulted in the purchase of 33,000 tons of bananas by traders from our province. On the 30th, the editorial offices of Guangxi's Nanguo Metropolis Daily called up asking to use our newspaper to express their thanks to the people of Shanxi and urge them to eat more of the "bananas of caring" to help out their brother farmers in Guangxi.

"Storms in the north and a cold wave in the south made problems for the sale of Guangxi bananas this year. Guangxi is expected to produce 2.1 million tons of bananas this year, and through November 25, 1.35 million tons had already been harvested in the region. 750,000 tons are still waiting to be harvested," said Lin Haizhou, a reporter for the Nanguo Metropolis Daily who takes the farmers' concerns to heart. Lin seems even more worried than they are: "The plight of the banana farmers attracted the attention of the central government at the highest levels and has won the support of people of all ethnic groups across the country. On the 29th, the Guangxi Banana Sales Promotion Team signed a purchase agreement for 33,000 tons with Shanxi banana dealers. We would like to express our thanks to the friendly people of Shanxi and encourage everyone to buy and eat more bananas so that the worries of their brothers in Guangxi may come to an end."

Since the start of winter [Nov. 7], the price of bananas in the city of Taiyuan has been falling. At the MeetAll supermarket on May 1 Plaza, bananas were selling for 2.78 yuan per kilo, with split-open bananas just 2 yuan per kilo, and locals were snapping them up. A survey of supermarkets and retail stands throughout the city revealed that bananas were generally priced around 2.6 yuan per kilo but fell to 2 yuan every evening. Bananas have become a common sight on the fruit platters of city residents.

Du Daqing, a fruit wholesaler at the Shuixiguan Fruit Market told this reporter that the price of bananas was particularly low this year, and margins for wholesalers were thin: "The supply is more plentiful than it's been in years, but profits are lower than ever. But we'll respond to the country's call. To alleviate the oversupply of bananas in Guangxi, we'll buy more and sell more, and we'll be victorious. Look, I just got a delivery today." Du explained that over the past few days, the cost of bananas had begun to rebound, rising roughly 5 or 6 fen per kilo. "This time last year, the same grade of bananas was 2.2 yuan per kilo, wholesale. Now it's just 1.7 yuan."