The Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Food Supply (MAPA) is studying how to stop or at least delay, the importation of bananas from Ecuador.
The Minister Antonio Andrade proposed a coordinated effort with the Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade (MDIC) and Foreign Affairs (MFA) to prevent the immediate entry of Ecuadorian producers to the Brazilian market. The neighbouring country said they had met the phytosanitary requirements that allow it to export the fruit to Brazil, in accordance with the stipulations of the World Trade Organization (WTO), and are pressing the Brazilian authorities to permit them to enter the fruit.
Brazilian Banana producers say that, besides the production being subsidized by the government, the Ecuadorian fruit is a carrier of diseases that can cause havoc for production in Brazil. A technical report submitted to Andrade alerted him of the risk of importing at least six devastating pests for cultivation in the country, and a fungus that is highly resistant to pesticides applied in the control of the black Sigatoka disease, a pest that is already in Brazil. "Banana plantations in Ecuador are sprayed 40 times a year with chemical pesticides, four times more than in Brazil," they said.
The minister met with representatives of the National Confederation of Banana (CONABAN) and producer associations of the Ribeira Valley, São Paulo, Santa Catarina, Minas Gerais and Bahia on Thursday. According to Sandra Kennedy, from the Consortium for Food Security in the Ribeira Valley (Consad), Andrade is willing to discuss with other ministries ways of preventing the Ecuadorian fruit from entering the country.
According to CONABAN, even though Ecuador is the largest exporter of bananas in the world, only five multinational companies control 80% of the fruit's international trade, monopolizing the production and trade in that country.
Brazil is the third largest banana producer in the world, producing 7.5 million tonnes per year, behind India and China. São Paulo, Bahia, Santa Catarina, Minas Gerais, Pará, Pernambuco and Ceará are responsible for 74% of the Brazilian production. The country cultivates about 500 thousand hectares and estimates are that the fruit generate 520,000 direct jobs and two million indirect ones.
Information from Agencia Estado