A traditional greeting at the Chinese New Year is 'Congratulations and best wishes for a prosperous New Year!'. It is a pity that this only came true in the first half of 2009 and not for the entire year. Import prices had nevertheless moved very well everywhere in the world while retail prices remained very sensible, making banana the anti-slump fruit par excellence. The recovery of world export potential throughout the second half of the year and stronger competition from competing fruits spoiled the part. Finally, the average annual price was identical to those of the two previous years.