Banana prices double in Thailand

The price of kluay hom thong banana or “golden bananas” in Thailand has doubled to 30 baht (US$0.89) amid growing demand.

Somchai Nunual, leader of the golden banana and fruit safety group in Bang Kaew district in Thailand’s 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 that the kluay hom thong banana harvest this year will amount to just 32,000 tons, a massive drop from last year’s 120,000 tons.

Farmers made an average of 278 baht per 100 bananas last year, up from 243 baht in 2022, according to the ministry. It forecast that banana farmers will pocket 292 baht per 100 fruits this year.

The kluay hom thong banana is one of Thailand’s main fruit exports, with 80% going to Japan and the rest largely to China and Cambodia.

Japan allows Thailand a quota of 8,000 tons 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.