Expectations were that, 8 days after the meeting between banana producers and exporters on November 4, there would be an official statement about the price of a box of bananas in 2014.
According to Paul Gonzalez, at first they expected to obtain a response on the price from the Minister of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries, Javier Ponce, no later than November 14.
So far, however, they haven't obtained any response so they expect that Ponce will make his official statement on the subject, which has the banana sector in the province and the country expectant, in the coming days.
Although the production sector wants an increase that is between 6.00 and 7.04 U.S. dollars, they are aware that it's difficult to obtain it, as they must take into account the issue of competitiveness relative to their major competitors, Colombia and Costa Rica. In face of this they also requested the familiar compensation measures by the state to reduce the costs of production, which are currently very high. Meanwhile the export sector insists the box’s price should drop to $5.50 or, alternatively, stay at its current price of $ 6.00.
Eduardo Ledesma, president of the Association of Banana Exporters of Ecuador (AEBE) noted that the banana sector is going through a rough patch. According to the representative of the export sector at the end of this year the country's banana sector will have losses. "Tops, we will export 250 million boxes, three or four million less than last year," he said.
Source: Diariopinion.com