Compared to the same period last year, Turkey, Netherlands, United Kingdom and Algeria bought more bananas from Ecuador during the first quarter of this year. The increase has led these countries to gain ground and be located between the main markets of the Ecuadorian fruit.
Data from the Central Bank of Ecuador (BCE) show that, in contrast, Italy, Belgium, Ukraine, Serbia and Montenegro reduced imports, loosing the positions that they had gained in the first half of 2012 when these countries were among Ecuador's main markets.
Official figures indicate that Ecuador received $1.139 million for banana exports in the first half of the year, 4.8% more than in the same period last year.
However, sales to the different markets showed variations. $106.71 million were sold to Turkey in the period under review, a 168% increase.
This increase places this nation as the third destination for Ecuadorian bananas. Last year, it was ranked seventh. The UK climbed from the 11th position to 9th; Algeria from the 12th to the 10th, and the Netherlands from the 10th to 8th position.
Meanwhile, Italy descended from the third place to the fifth. Banana exports to that country fell by 44.2%, decreasing from $121.69 million in the first half of last year to $67.88 billion this year.
Belgium went from fifth to sixth place; Ukraine from 8th to 11th, and Serbia and Montenegro from 9th to 16th.
Eduardo Ledesma, president of the Association of Banana Exporters of Ecuador (AEBE) indicated that the effects of the economic crisis persist in several European countries. Meanwhile, Turkey is growing because much of the fruit is being redistributed towards Eastern countries from there.
Bananas and plantains
Eduardo Ledesma, president of the Association of Banana Exporters of Ecuador, said that the BCE had recorded a growth in exports because they added bananas to their fruit. According to his guild banana shipments in the first half of the year fell 8% in volume when compared to 2012. "We've sent 150 million boxes of bananas, compared to the 165 million boxes we sent last year."
Source: eluniverso.com