{"id":21262,"date":"2024-10-07T06:05:53","date_gmt":"2024-10-07T06:05:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/?p=21262"},"modified":"2024-10-07T06:05:56","modified_gmt":"2024-10-07T06:05:56","slug":"golden-bananas-bring-thai-farmers-revenue","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/2024\/10\/07\/golden-bananas-bring-thai-farmers-revenue\/","title":{"rendered":"“Golden bananas\u201d bring Thai farmers revenue\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

They may be fewer than the traditional kluai na mwa <\/em>variety, but  \u201cgolden bananas\u201d or kluai hom thong<\/em> are turning farmers\u2019 fortunes in Thailand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A production slump in the 2023-2024 harvest has made demand override supply and occasioned market price doubling. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the\u00a0Bangkok Post<\/u><\/a>, this\u00a0Musa acuminata<\/em><\/u><\/a><\/em>\u00a0AAA group<\/a><\/u>\u00a0member\u00a0was costing 30 baht ($0.89) a kg by September 10, 2024. The normal price is usually 15 baht ($0.44) per kg.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beneficiaries include growers in the Bang Kaew district of the southern province of Phatthalung, who are recording an income spike of 100%. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Less Rain, Price Boon<\/strong><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The price climb owes specifically to lack of rain in end 2023, which caused a poor harvest with an eventual ebb in market supplies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thailand\u2019s ministry of agriculture now estimates 2024\u2019s production at merely 32,000 tonnes, almost 1\/4 of the 2023 harvest at 120,000 tonnes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

An opposite trend to production is manifest in the\u00a0wholesale prices<\/a><\/u>, which have risen by 20.9% in 4 years. Candidly, the rate historically increased from 243 baht ($7.20) per 100 fingers in 2021 to a 292-baht ($8.65) estimate in 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Demand for \u201cGolden Bananas\u201d<\/strong><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Another contributing factor is growing local demand for \u201cgolden bananas,\u201d which are usually larger than the ubiquitous kluai na mwa <\/em>variety.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So is international demand by selective nations like Japan also fueling this premium rate. Indeed, Asia\u2019s biggest economy orders 80%<\/u><\/a> of Thailand\u2019s outbound kluai hom thong<\/em> shipments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Japan imposes an 8,000-tonne import quota of Thai bananas but only around 50% reach there due to strict standard requirements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Still, this international quota is enough for Phatthalung farmers who grow export-ready aromatic bananas alongside the equally-appealing \u201cSang Yot\u201d rice<\/u><\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A similar case applies to kluai hom thong<\/em>\u2019s growers in western-central Thailand\u2019s Phetchaburi province. Locals of the province\u2019s Ban Lat district have especially welcomed the current pricing strength, citing it competitive. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Therefore, weather whims and supply factors have conspired to improve specialty banana prices for farmers in southern and central Thailand. And as the following data reveals, \u2018golden bananas\u201d are but a part of a booming banana treasure of this agricultural nation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thailand Banana Statistics<\/strong><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Thailand produced more bananas in 2021 at 1,343,531 tonnes<\/u><\/a> than in 2022 at 1,288,313 tonnes, according to FAOSTAT. Though high, the two figures represent just 0.04% of the output by the world production leader, India at 33,062,000 tonnes<\/u><\/a>. In rankings, Thailand was 17th<\/sup> in production in 2022, with Asian neighbor Vietnam ahead at the 13th<\/sup> position with 2,500,000 tonnes<\/u><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What was the production trend in the 2012-22 decade<\/strong>? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the period between 2012 and 2022, Thailand has seen moderate increase in annual output. In 2013, production rose by 1% to 1,030,000 tonnes, then spurted by 36% <\/u><\/a>in 2014 to a decade high of 1,400,000 tonnes. Though 2015 saw a substantial decrease, all followup years up to 2020 showed gradual increase that culminated at 1,360,000 tonnes.<\/u><\/a> By 2022, production had dipped to 1,430,000 tonnes but was still higher by 38.8% over the 2013 level.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

How huge is the banana area in Thailand<\/strong>? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to FAOSTAT, there were 58,389 hectares <\/u><\/a>under bananas in 2022, a drop from 60,604 hectares in 2021. On comparative terms, global production leaders India and China had impressive acreage at 863,000 and 341,300 hectares<\/u><\/a>, respectively. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

How many Thai banana varieties are there<\/strong>? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Though only 20<\/u><\/a> banana varieties are under active cultivation in Thailand,  the country boasts more than 50<\/u><\/a> varieties. Most are Musa <\/em>genus <\/em>types, including the Musa balbisiana <\/em> species. Most local names begin with the term \u201ckluai,\u201d which is Thai for banana. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Is \u201cgolden banana\u201d popular in Thailand<\/strong>? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The kluai hom (<\/em>Musa AAA group<\/em><\/u><\/em><\/a>) is a fragrant type with a skin that turns from green to golden when ripe. It is a highly popular daily treat, with many Thais munching it as a snack in form of fritters and cakes<\/u><\/a>. It grows mainly in the provinces of Phetchaburi and Phatthalung in western-central and southern Thailand, respectively. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

They may be fewer than the traditional kluai na mwa variety, but  \u201cgolden bananas\u201d or kluai hom thong are turning farmers\u2019 fortunes in Thailand. A production slump in the 2023-2024 harvest has made demand override supply and occasioned market price doubling.  According to the\u00a0Bangkok Post, this\u00a0Musa acuminata\u00a0AAA group\u00a0member\u00a0was costing 30 baht ($0.89) a kg by September 10, 2024. The…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":21263,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[2],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n"Golden bananas\u201d bring Thai farmers revenue\u00a0 - Selina Wamucii | Food & Agriculture News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/2024\/10\/07\/golden-bananas-bring-thai-farmers-revenue\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\""Golden bananas\u201d bring Thai farmers revenue\u00a0 - Selina Wamucii | Food & Agriculture News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"They may be fewer than the traditional kluai na mwa variety, but  \u201cgolden bananas\u201d or kluai hom thong are turning farmers\u2019 fortunes in Thailand. 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