The line graph illustates the changes in banana prices in four countries over the period from 1996 to 2004, measured in US dollars per kilogram.
Overall, the price of bananas in Japan fluctuated a lot, while the figures for Germany and the USA changed less. France remained quite stable. Japan had the highest price in most years, while the USA remained the lowest throughout the timeframe.
In 1996, Japan emerged as the leading country, standing at 2$ per kilogram, while France had the same figure. Germany and the USA followed at 1.5$ and 1$ respectively. However, the price in Japan rose sharply to 3$ in 1998 before falling to 2$ in 1999. It then increased to 2.5$ in 2000 and flucutated over the following years, reaching 2.5$ again in 2004. Meanwhile, France stayed at 2$ until 1998, droped to 1.5$ in 1999, and recovered to 2$ in 2000. Its price remained at 2$ in 2001, fell to about 1.7$ in 2002, and then rose to around 1.9$ in 2003 and 2$ in 2004.
In contrast to the trends observed in Japan and France, Germany and the USA followed different patterns. Germany started at 1.5$ in 1996, then fell to 1.2$ in 1997 before rising to around 1.7$ in 1998. After a declien to about 1.2$ in 1999, the price increased to 1.5$ in 2000 and around 1.7$ in 2001. It then reached 2$ in 2002, before falling to about 1.7$ in 2003 and remaining stable in 2004. On the other hand, the USA experienced only small changes, staying at 1$ in the first two years and rising to around 1.3$ in 1998. Its price then stayed close to 1.2$, with slight changes, and ended at approximately 1.2$ in 2004.