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Southern banana glut sends central Taiwan banana prices to the bottom, growers urge government not to buy only Pingtung and Kaohsiung bananas

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After the southern banana glut, central Taiwan banana prices hit rock bottom, growers plead with the government not to buy only Pingtung and Kaohsiung bananas, and the collapse drama may drag on

This year's hot climate and absence of typhoons brought a bumper crop of golden bananas, and recent consecutive afternoon downpours caused southern bananas to grow rapidly, flooding the market with large quantities and sending prices plunging. To keep farmers' hard work from going to waste, the Agriculture and Food Agency launched purchases in Pingtung and Kaohsiung in September to reduce the flow of substandard bananas into the market, and has already carried out a second round of purchases.

Southern bananas have reached the tail end of their peak season, and next central Taiwan bananas will come onto the market one after another, yet banana prices remain depressed, with Yunlin today even seeing top-grade bananas at 4 yuan per kilogram. As central Taiwan banana growers watch the government buy southern substandard bananas at 5 yuan per kilogram while no one pays attention to central Taiwan bananas, they are burning with anxiety, and wholesalers also admit that bananas have filled their warehouses to the brim while sales enthusiasm has yet to pick up.

Nantou bananas are currently bearing the brunt, and the Nantou County Government has begun matching companies and enterprises with farmers' associations to make purchases; the agriculture departments of Yunlin County and Chiayi County are also deploying ahead of time to ease the sales pressure on banana growers.

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