"Ecuadorian bananas are still considered a delicacy in Asia"

10 cents more
The Ministry of Agriculture of Ecuador (Magap), confirmed at the end of 2016 that the minimum price for the banana box in 2017 would increase from $6.16 to $6.26, which resulted in different reactions within the Ecuadorian banana industry. Exporters in the sector said that "the government did this to appease the producers, but it is us, the exporters, who take all the risks, because prices are not set by us, but by the markets." For their part, the producers affirmed "that it is a fair and necessary measure."

Lower taxes, more competition

Also, many producers and exporters became more optimistic ahead of the signing of the agreement with the European Union, but it was not taken into account that Ecuador entered several years later than its competing countries. "We now have equivalent taxes, so we fear that other producing countries will try to manipulate their prices, and may turn this into a price war. To this we must add the price change, effective from January 2017. It would have been better not to change those prices yet, because we run the risk of becoming less competitive," stated Hugo Castro, of GinaFruit.

Predicting this situation, Ginafruit decided to change its strategy by entering markets with high requirements, mainly Asia, thus competing against Philippine fruit. "We have to compete with what the consumer is accustomed to seeing and receiving. They find it hard to get used to new things. At first, they complained about the sizes of our bananas, which are larger compared to the Philippine bananas. Now there are supermarkets that appreciate the advantages of Ecuadorian bananas, and in many markets our bananas are considered a delicacy and are sold at a slightly higher price," affirms Castro.

The solution: demanding markets

Likewise, Japan has once again consolidated as a key market for Ecuador, and although it is currently in the process of recovering its market share, it is becoming an interesting destination. "They are very demanding when it comes to the packaging, which has to be 100% ready for the final consumer when shipped from Ecuador, so the quality controls have to be much more exhaustive in order to meet their requirements," stressed the representative.

Ecuador is in the middle of the summer at the moment and, as a result, production is on the rise, "although prices are 45% lower than they would normally be in this period and the price increase has been very gradual. In response to that, this year we are obtaining the Rainforest certification to give added value to our fruit and be able to work with large international companies. The goal is to differentiate ourselves in the market and obtain better returns and a stronger position."

More information:

Hugo Alfredo Castro
GinaFruit S.A.
T: +593 999423369
E: gerencia@ginafruit.com.ec
www.ginafruit.com.ec