Ecuador: exporters buy foreign bananas

Tholen – Ecuadorian banan exporters are buying bananas in other countries, to complete their international sales contracts. The reason for this is that the Ministry of Agriculture insists on that exporters pay the minimum banana price of $ 3. To avoid having to pay this amount, exporters are buying bananas in Colombia, Guatemala, Costa Rica and Panama. According to banana export organisation Aebe it concerns about 500K boxes.

Excelban, one of the companies who is buying abroad, says it is cheaper to export from Central America. It is the general opinion of exporters that the market should determine the price of bananas, not the government.

By André van der Wiel, FreshPlaza editor