Samakimoto Graphics
08-03-2006, 05:46 AM
Here's an ecerpt from an article in one of the local papers: by CHARLES ONYANGO-OBBO
In March, Cyclone Larry devastated the Australian banana crop, knocking down over 85 per cent of the plantations. By June, prices had shot up by 500 per cent. In the worst-struck parts of the country, a large bunch of bananas has been going for $200, twenty times (Sh14,000) what it fetches in local markets.
The Times of London reported that rural banana rustlers were targeting unguarded plantations in night raids, while urban thieves had their eyes on shops. Things are so bad that to prevent a break-in, one fruiterer in Victoria posted a sign on his window reading: "No bananas are kept on these premises overnight."
Thieves used a light truck to carry 18 large bunches from a South Wales plantation. If that number of bananas were stolen from a farmer in Kisii, he could afford to shrug it off. But in Australia, the loss was worth a respectable $3,000 (Sh220,000).
Prices are expected to rise further as shortages get worse due to the onset of winter. Production is expected to pick up in November, so anyone thinking of exporting bananas to Australia has only a three-month window of opportunity.
But for this once, the thought of a bunch of bananas selling for Sh14,000 made me wish that Africa were next door to Australia.
Only because most of our farmers do not use pesticides, many cannot export their crop to Australia to ease the crisis. :rolleyes:
In March, Cyclone Larry devastated the Australian banana crop, knocking down over 85 per cent of the plantations. By June, prices had shot up by 500 per cent. In the worst-struck parts of the country, a large bunch of bananas has been going for $200, twenty times (Sh14,000) what it fetches in local markets.
The Times of London reported that rural banana rustlers were targeting unguarded plantations in night raids, while urban thieves had their eyes on shops. Things are so bad that to prevent a break-in, one fruiterer in Victoria posted a sign on his window reading: "No bananas are kept on these premises overnight."
Thieves used a light truck to carry 18 large bunches from a South Wales plantation. If that number of bananas were stolen from a farmer in Kisii, he could afford to shrug it off. But in Australia, the loss was worth a respectable $3,000 (Sh220,000).
Prices are expected to rise further as shortages get worse due to the onset of winter. Production is expected to pick up in November, so anyone thinking of exporting bananas to Australia has only a three-month window of opportunity.
But for this once, the thought of a bunch of bananas selling for Sh14,000 made me wish that Africa were next door to Australia.
Only because most of our farmers do not use pesticides, many cannot export their crop to Australia to ease the crisis. :rolleyes: