The line graph provides information about how much bananas cost in Japan, France, Germany, and the USA from 1994 to 2004.
What is the most striking when looking at the data is that banana prices in all four countries showed fluctuations over the period, most notably in Japan. It is also important to note that this country generally recorded the highest prices throughout, with the exception of the year 2001, when its figure was surpassed by France’s.
In Japan, bananas were initially charged at just under $2 per kilogram, and this figure rose substantially to peak at $3 per kilogram, which was by far the highest price recorded on the chart. Thereafter, it hovered around $2 per kilogram until 2000, after which it dropped sharply to a low of $1.5 per kilogram in 2001, temporarily falling below France’s figure ($1.7). Towards the end of the period, however, the cost of one kilogram of bananas rebounded, securing the top position since the second quarter of 2001 and ending up at $2.5.
France and Germany displayed roughly similar pricing patterns, with the former generally showing higher prices throughout. From 1994 to 1999, residents in France paid around $1.6 for one kilogram of bananas. After that, this figure dipped to nearly $1.1 in 2000, almost reaching parity with Germany’s number for that year. The subsequent years saw a recovery; however, it was short-lived, as the cost of each kilogram of bananas in France plummeted to its lowest at $1 per kilogram in 2003, before climbing back to $1.5 per kilogram by 2004. Germany’s prices were generally $0.2 lower than those of France, and showed minor deviations: prices were around $1.5 per kilogram between 1994 and 1996 and then found a plateau at $1.1 from 2002 to 2004.
Moving finally to the USA, it was the only nation experiencing the least change in the cost of bananas. This country also recorded the lowest prices throughout, increasing from $0.8 to $1.1 per kilogram over the period.