Price of banana in Thailand rising

The price of kluay hom thong banana or "golden bananas" in Thailand has doubled from about THB 15 ($0.44) per kilogramme to THB 30, with farmers rejoicing at growing demand.

Somchai Nunual, leader of the golden banana and fruit safety group in Bang Kaew district in Phatthalung province, said the price hike was due to the growing popularity of the fruit, while the lack of rain since the second half of last year has curtailed the supply of bananas to the market.

Bang Kaew district has been the center of the bananas in the province since farmers discovered the soil in the district is more suited to growing bananas than rubber, rice or oil palm.

Thailand’s Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives predicted the kluay hom thong banana harvest this year will be just 32,000 tonnes, a remarkable reduction from 120,000 tonnes last year.

Farmers' incomes have risen from an average THB 243 per 100 bananas in 2021 to THB 278 last year, according to the ministry. It forecast that farmers will pocket THB 292 per 100 bananas this year.

The kluay hom thong banana is one of the main fruits exported to other countries, with 80% going to Japan and the rest largely to China and Cambodia.

Japan allows Thailand a quota of 8,000 tonnes of the fruit annually, but the actual export volume is only half that because farmers cannot produce enough of the fruit that meets Japanese standards, according to the Internal Trade Department.