The Minister of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries, Javier Ponce, announced on Monday December 21, 2015 the new price of a box of bananas that will apply in 2016. Ponce said the price was set at 6.16 dollars for a 43 pound box for export.
The price was determined by the Consultative Council of Banana after two meetings between its members. The advisory body includes representatives of the exporting, producing, and government sectors.
The official price of Ecuadorian banana box was set at 6.55 in 2015 and 6.22 in 2014.
"The government set the price when there was no agreement among the members of the Consultative Council. This time there was consensus in the Council and the price was set at USD 6.16, "said the Minister of Agriculture during a press conference in Guayaquil with producers of bananas and the executive director of the Association of Banana Exporters from Ecuador, Eduardo Ledesma.
"The market has strong restrictions at this time, and we believe producers have a clear understanding of this situation," he added.
The Magap announced other measures regarding the marketing of fruit, aimed at stimulating the production of small banana producers.
One of these measures is the commitment to purchase at least 15% of the bananas for exports from producers with less than 30 hectares.
Source: elcomercio.com