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Guangxi government helps farmers sell bananas

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-11-24 15:59

Government of southern China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region is trying its best to make locally-yielded bananas to become marketable.

Local farmers in the region, which is estimated to yield a good harvest of 2.1 million tons of bananas, are suffering from slack sales of the fruit.

Local banana output was 116.5 percent more than the year-earlier level, the region's agriculture bureau told Xinhua Tuesday.

However, the abundant supplies dragged prices down to 0.4 yuan to 0.6 yuan per kilogram in earlier November, or less than one third of the price level in the same period of last year.

The circumstances, which experts believed were a result from recent rain and snowfalls and bottleneck in transport services, have aroused concern of the central government. A state joint research group was dispatched Sunday to Guangxi to help find a solution.

To help sell local bananas, the regional transport authorities required all toll stations in Guangxi to let vehicles carrying bananas pass free of charge.

Meanwhile, a subsidy of 300 yuan ($43.99) will be granted to drivers of vehicles each carrying 10 to 19 tons of bananas from Nov 21 to Dec 31. The subsidy for vehicles each carrying more than 20 tons of bananas is 500 yuan, according to the local transport bureau.

Railway services will get a subsidy equivalent to 10 percent of freight charge, the bureau added.

On Monday, banana price recovered to 0.76 yuan to 1.1 yuan per kg.

Not only the local government is acting, common citizens have also joined the efforts to help farmers.

Xixiangtang district is a major banana growing area in the regional capital Nanning, yielding 520,000 tons of bananas this year. The district government told Xinhua that six "banana promotion" teams have been launched in the district to encourage citizens to buy.

Local postings on Internet are telling netizens' own stories about buying bananas. "Have you eaten bananas today" has become a popular phrase on the web in Guangxi these days.

Experts said local farmers were vulnerable against market changes as they lacked storing equipment and processing facilities.

They saw government efforts to raise price only a makeshift. They suggested that farm produce processing industry should be developed and large agricultural enterprises should be fostered against market risks.