According to data provided by the National Federation of Plantain Producers of Ecuador (Fenaprope), between January and June 2021, Ecuador produced 56,948,758 boxes of fresh plantain and 1,597,032 boxes of dry plantain, snacks, or chifles. But this year, in the same period, production has contracted by 50%. However, the snack presentation of Ecuadorian green plantain has opened up new markets in the United States and Africa.
According to Marina Andrade, president of Fenaprope, Ecuador exports five to six containers a week to the United States and two to Africa.
Third-largest global exporter of green plantain
According to estimates, Ecuador has 10,500 to 12,000 producers of fresh green plantain, which position the country as the thirteenth producer of green plantain globally, with a 1.7% share; while, at the Latin American level, it ranks third, behind Colombia and the Dominican Republic. However, it ranks as the third-largest exporter of plantain in the world, with a 15% share.
According to figures from the Central Bank of Ecuador, in 2021 the country exported 211,950 tons of green plantain for $104 million. Shipments were mainly destined for the United States (65.1%), the European Union (17.3%), and Chile (10.4%).
The crop is distributed in 21 provinces and covers a planted area of 128,861 hectares, but six provinces account for 83.3% of the 763,455 tons that the country produces each year. Manabi is the main producing region with 40.0% of the national harvest.
Source: expreso.ec