The good relations between Paraguay and Ecuador in the cattle sector led banana producers to ask the Chancellor of Paraguay, Eladio Loizaga, to request technical assistance from Ecuador in order to improve production.
In this regard, the owner of the San José Obrero exporting firm, Hugo Franco, said the idea was to have a greater share of imports of bananas in Argentina and to eventually find another market. According to Franco, Loizaga said he would discuss the issue with the authorities of Ecuador in his next visit to the country.
Other segments
He also said the banana sector wanted to conquer other consumer segments and, to do so, they needed to imitate the Ecuadorians, since they are the leading exporters of bananas. "We want them to come and to conduct studies so we can know what the strengths and weaknesses of the sector are," he said.
He added that only 20% of the bananas that Argentina imported were shipped in wooden boxes, while the remaining 80% were exported in cardboard boxes. "Ecuador and Bolivia are the two countries that supply bananas to Argentina in cardboard boxes. If Paraguay works hard it could participate in that share of the market, where consumption and prices are higher," said the entrepreneur.
Meanwhile, the commercial manager of the Paraguayan Central Cooperative (CEPACOOP), Miltiades Sosa, said the idea of the producers was to imitate the methods used in Ecuador, to prepare and compete in major markets. "We have experience in the production improvements, as they have been channelled through technologies used in other countries."
"We brought technicians from Argentina and Brazil, but we need the support of trained technicians from Ecuador to continue improving the fruit quality and achieve greater competitiveness," Sosa said.
She also said that Paraguay might not always be the third largest supplier of banana for Argentina and producers were interested in improving the quality of the fruit. "We are currently the third largest supplier of Argentina, after Bolivia and Ecuador, currently consumers want to consume imported bananas in cardboard boxes. Paraguay and Brazil are the two countries that export banana crates to Argentina," she stated.
Source: lanacion.com.py