Farmers in southern Taiwan Wednesday called for the government to continue buying bananas in an effort to alleviate the impact from a glut that has sent market prices into a tailspin.
Tsai He-hsun, head of the agriculture division of the Meishan Village office in southern Chiayi County, said the government should assign more funds to acquire bananas to further reduce the financial impact faced by banana farmers in the village, which is one of Taiwan's major banana growers.
Banana farmers on the island have suffered a dive in market prices due to production gluts caused by warm weather. Retail prices have fallen below NT$10 per jin, a weight measurement equal to 0.6 kilograms, sharply down from a peak of more than NT$34 in April, Tsai said.
Tsai said that without increased support from the government, banana prices are likely to fall further and make more farmers suffer.
"We hope the government will keep buying bananas, " Tsai said. "The efforts are expected to stabilize banana prices and assuage farmers. We need the government's help."
Since mid-May, the Agriculture and Food Agency (AFA) has paid NT$5 per kilogram for 2,238 tons of bananas that were not suitable to be placed on market shelves. The amount is close to an annual acquisition goal of 3,000 tons set by the government in May.
The bananas acquired by the government will be processed by food firms to become banana chips or other snacks.
Tsai said Meishan Village has been granted a quota of 500 tons under the acquisition program and that 300 tons have already been bought by the government.
"The 500 tons are not close to enough. The government should raise its budget to acquire more, " Tsai said, adding that his village has 100 hectares of banana farms, enough to grow 3,000 tons a year.
Liu Hong-wen, head of the Meishan Village office, echoed Tsai's concerns, saying banana farmers in the village now face piles of unsold bananas and could go bankrupt because of the production gluts.
An AFA spokesman told the Central News Agency the government will try its best to help banana farmers.
"The efforts to acquire unsold bananas will not be limited to just 3,000 tons, " he said. "If necessary, the government will allocate more funds to cut the surplus."
