The Cabinet-level Council of Agriculture (COA) is set to help sell more than 8,000 additional tons of locally grown bananas by the end of August to further stabilize the price of the fruit, according to a statement released Friday.
The council has taken actions to battle a banana glut by helping to prop up prices since the middle of May, including the arrangement of group purchases, buying bananas for disadvantaged groups, stimulating banana exports and increasing the consumption of processed green banana products.
The council's Agriculture and Food Agency (AFA) said it aims to export 4,605 tons of bananas to Japan and 339 tons to China, and it will also encourage processing companies to purchase 2,633 tons of green bananas at NT$5 per kilogram.
The other 487 tons will be sold to the military, prisons and other government agencies, the agency said. According to the AFA, demand for bananas has been affected by the harvest of many other summer fruits between May and July, which caused prices to drop.
AFA said the result of the council's efforts since May have been positive as the domestic price of green bananas rose from NT$3-6 to NT$6-10 per kilogram in June, while export prices rose from NT$12-15 to NT$15-20 per kilogram.
The council has taken actions to battle a banana glut by helping to prop up prices since the middle of May, including the arrangement of group purchases, buying bananas for disadvantaged groups, stimulating banana exports and increasing the consumption of processed green banana products.
The council's Agriculture and Food Agency (AFA) said it aims to export 4,605 tons of bananas to Japan and 339 tons to China, and it will also encourage processing companies to purchase 2,633 tons of green bananas at NT$5 per kilogram.
The other 487 tons will be sold to the military, prisons and other government agencies, the agency said. According to the AFA, demand for bananas has been affected by the harvest of many other summer fruits between May and July, which caused prices to drop.
AFA said the result of the council's efforts since May have been positive as the domestic price of green bananas rose from NT$3-6 to NT$6-10 per kilogram in June, while export prices rose from NT$12-15 to NT$15-20 per kilogram.
