The global logistics crisis has bogged down the banana production chain in Ecuador. The lack of containers due to international congestion in maritime transport has delayed the arrival of necessary raw materials, such as plastic, cardboard, and fertilizers, which has led to an increase in costs, reduced profits, and slowed down the flow of Commerce.
"If things continue this way, next year will be tremendously complicated," stated Alfredo Hoyos, the former president of the Ecuadorian Association of Plastics. "Only a miracle could bring down the prices of raw materials and normalize the entire chain." Plastic is used in everything that is exported, Hoyos stated. The price of polyethylenes has skyrocketed, so everything else has become more expensive. "Consequently, the Ecuadorian products are less competitive in the international market," he said.
Ecuador's cardboard sector is experiencing the same issue. "2022 is going to be a very complicated year for exporters due to a possible shortage of cardboard boxes," stated Andres Jimenez, the general manager of Papelera Nacional. "It's a scenario that is aggravated by the significant increases in the cost of cardboard boxes, the difficulties there are to find spaces in shipping, and high transportation costs."
A container that left Shanghai and docked in Guayaquil was chartered for 1,200 dollars a year ago. Today, it is chartered for 18,000 dollars. A year and a half ago we would pay 500 dollars for each ton of paper. Now we have to pay more than 1,200 dollars per ton, Jimenez stated. "The worst part is that, no matter how much we are willing to pay, we do not get the necessary volume or the ships to bring it," the businessman added. We currently have 55,000 fewer metric tons of paper to make boxes. Inventories are low and that complicates the production of cardboard in times when more boxes are required.
The logistics crisis affects banana exports
From January to September - the date of the last cut by the Central Bank of Ecuador - sales have fallen by 5.5% in volume and 9.1% in dollars when compared to the same period last year. In nine months, the banana sector, which generates 500,000 jobs in the country, has exported 5,253 tons of bananas for 2.598 billion dollars.
Source: elpais.com
