Banana Gate’s Hainan “Banana Gate”

Some large banana growers in Haikou City and Ledong County reported to reporters that recently, a Guangdong media reported in a report on "Using medicine to ripen bananas, and there are hidden rules for selling fruits" that "mistaken ethephon will appear. Vomiting, nausea and burning sensation, long-term use is harmful to the human body and not beneficial." There are food safety issues in using ethephon to ripen bananas. After the report was broadcast, it was rebroadcast by many domestic TV stations and widely reprinted on the Internet.

Gan Dongquan, a farmer who owns three banana planting bases in Hainan, told reporters that in mid-April 2008, after he harvested bananas from two bases in Dongfang City and Ledong County and put them on the market, prices have been relatively stable. In the past few days, the price of bananas has suddenly dropped, from 6 to 7 yuan per kilogram to more than 2 yuan, a drop of more than 50%, and there are many fewer buyers.

Zhao Jun, executive deputy general manager of Hainan Wanzhong Banana Sales Co., Ltd. and president of the Hainan Provincial Banana Association, said that because of the rapid decline in banana prices, the company is losing more than 200,000 yuan in output value every day.

Zhao Jun believes that media reports only rely on the ripening process of bananas filmed at the Nanshan Agricultural Products Wholesale Market in Shenzhen, without seeking confirmation from experts, and compare the use of ethephon for ripening with direct administration of ethylene. Equating profit and misleading consumers is the main reason for the rapid decline in banana prices. Zhang Xiyan said that the banana industry has been "accidentally injured" again and again due to false reports by some media. He believes that the main channel for people to obtain all kinds of information now relies on the media. The media should be cautious, self-disciplined, and standardized when reporting on the safety of agricultural products. They should pay attention to the authenticity and scientificity of the reports, enhance their sense of responsibility, think more about the farmers, and extensively consult experts. Opinions, otherwise, it will cause great damage to the industry and cause great losses to farmers.

During the turmoil over ethephon-ripened bananas, some purchasers received text message reminders saying that domestically produced bananas would be cut in price, further triggering market panic. Industry insiders believe that the possibility of the circulation link taking advantage of the situation to suppress banana prices cannot be ruled out.

Among the several accidental injuries, banana farmers are the biggest victims. In fact, this incident has a great impact on the purchase price of farmland, but has little impact on consumer market prices. Feedback from the offices of the Hainan Provincial Department of Agriculture in seven cities, including Beijing, Shanghai, and Xi'an, shows that market prices are stable and market sales are normal. Agricultural experts believe that the main market for Hainan bananas is in inland cities, and the production areas are far away from consumers. Only by obtaining accurate and timely market information can farmers set reasonable prices for agricultural products and obtain higher economic returns. Because they do not understand the consumer market information, banana farmers are often led by various rumors and completely lose the initiative in price negotiations with transporters.