Ecuador's banana exports showed a 5% year-on-year drop between January and August, according to data from the Ecuadorian Banana Exporters Association (AEBE). This means the country exported 13.8 million fewer boxes of bananas in the first eight months of this year than in the same period of 2020.
According to a report published by the entity, the month with the greatest fall was May, as shipments decreased by 10%. July was the month with the best performance, registering an 0.3% increase in shipments over the same month last year.
This decrease in exports is attributed to several factors: on the one hand, climatic variations and phytosanitary problems that affect the supply; on the other hand, the low replacement of containers to move it. Faced with this scenario, there has been a drop in markets as stable as Europe, where Ecuador sends 33% of the bananas it exports. According to AEBE, sales to that destination decreased by 1%. A slight improvement is observed compared to other months, but the result is still negative.
Other markets that continue to be a challenge for the placement of Ecuadorian fruit had decreases of greater magnitude, as exports to the Middle East and Asia decreased by 19% and 28%, respectively. Meanwhile, shipments to closer destinations, such as the Southern Cone countries and the United States, increased by 3% and 2%, respectively.
Source: expreso.ec
