Why is the price of bananas higher during certain times of the year?

Question

Why is the price of bananas higher during certain times of the year? Using the laws of supply and demand how does the market affect price of bananas?

Answer 1

The main variant is supply. People may eat bananas more in summer, when they are having Banana Splits and Banana Drinks, and Fruit Salad with....Bananas! However, the Bananas we get need to come from all over the world, depending on the time of year, so it depends on the harvest and the availability and supply of Bananas in each harvest location - and that is a lot of variables! Are our March Bananas coming from someplace farther away that just had a drought? Higher Price. Are our June Bananas from close by where the season was great and little extra irrigation or other care was required? Lower Price. Literally - the price is all over the (global) map.

Answer 2

wow u got a lot of answers i didn't read through all of them. but I know u probably are going to. Just wanted to say I think its mainly due to supply. Bananas grow better in Summer so supply will increase and will bring the prices of bananas down given that Demand for bananas doesn't change. Or bananas don't grow well in winter so there are not much bananas being grown so Supply decreases bringing the prices of bananas up given that Demand for bananas doesn't change again. I think prices of bananas demand more on the Supply side. But this is rare it can also depend on the demand side of it as well. If supply stays constant and Demand increases, prices increase and vice versa if Demand decreases. Hope this helps.

Answer 3

Bananas are grown in the tropics and are NOT seasonal but are available in quantity year around, The variation in price between seasons is small and due to seasonal variation in shipping cost and storage cost. They have to be kept at a temperature of 56-58°F, which cost more in the summer and winter than when outside temperature are moderate. Producers anticipate less sales when shipping cost are higher, so reduce the crop during this time.

Edit: To some extent bananas are substitutes for other fruits which are seasonal, so the demand may fall when other fruits are cheap and plentiful.

Answer 4

Well because bananas grow best during a certain season and they are available in different areas in different seasons. The bananas are in higher demand when the easier-to-get ones are in the off-season, so stores have to have them shipped in from different parts of the world which contributes to high pricing. Hope that helps, good luck!

Answer 5

They are out of season sometimes (supply), just like other fruits. This summer I got great deals on blueberries, however the other day I went to get some and they were $4.00 for 4 ounces. Needless to say I did not buy them. But they are out of season right now, so the price has gone up. The supply has greatly diminished while the demand stays approximately the same, so the price goes up.

Answer 6

Because bananas are seasonal. Availability during local winter months is limited to indoor growing, creating a much smaller supply.

The law of supply demand indicates that for a perfectly elastic good (which bananas come close to), supply and demand are inversely proportional.

Answer 7

Supply decreases during certain times of the year...making the price higher.

Basically, it's a shift left of the supply curve and you will be able to see that the new equilibrium price is higher, and the equilibrium quantity is less.

Answer 8

Oh Gad...
You see bananas only grow at a certain time of the year... When it isn't growing season in most (most meaning that bananas are grown in many places so its almost always banana season somewhere..) of the places bananas are grown. there are less bananas. Less bananas means they're harder to find which means they should cost more.

Answer 9

All fall as part of the reasons why except for the fairy. There are a lot of factors that make up the price. Some include- Weather, location, season, any droughts or floods, and supply available.

Answer 10

Because they are a seasonal fruit and they also only grow in tropic areas that only have access during certain seasons. When they are the most expensive, it is due to a stiff lack of shipments recieving cargo in and out of the U.S. so the cost of shipping is higher therefore the cost of product is higher.