2016 marked the end of more than ten negotiations to allow the entry of Ecuadorian mangoes into the Chinese market.
According to the Foreign Trade Minister, Juan Carlos Cassinelli, the phytosanitary issue was the main barrier and was discussed by the Chinese and Ecuadorian authorities on several occasions until they reached an agreement. "Mango producers should be very happy this year [2017]. It will be a spectacular year for the Ecuadorian mango producers. It took us nearly ten years to resolve phytosanitary issues," the official said.
China is a recent market for the Ecuadorian mango, as they only began exporting this fruit to the Asian country in late 2016. According to data from the Ecuadorian Mango Foundation, Ecuador sent 6,934 six-kilogram boxes by air to the city of Shanghai, which only represents 0.05% of the country's total mango exports.
According to Pro Ecuador's sales office in Shanghai the country achieved 1226 purchase orders in the e-commerce platforms Tmall.com and Yiguo.com in November. During this period, their sales were three times higher than those of the competing countries in that city.
During 2016, mango sales to the Chinese market ranked last regarding mango exports. The mango's main market was the United States, with 91.75% of exports, i.e. 12.5 million cases.
Sergio Cedeño Amador, president of the Ecuadorian Mango Foundation, said: "This is our first year of experience in the Chinese market and we hope to continue positioning our fruit there."
Source: eluniverso.com