Demand for Ecuadorian bananas rises due to low production in Central America and Colombia

From January to March this year, Ecuador exported a total of 99.47 million cases of bananas, revealing a slight recovery on the previous year, according to recent data from the Ecuadorian Banana Marketing and Export Association (Acorbanec).

 

Richard Salazar, executive director of the association, points out that although banana exports recorded a variation of -12.17% in January 2024 and -3.51% from January to February 2024, the variation was only -0.40% from January to March 2024 compared with the 1st quarter of 2023. This contrasts with the +4.57% recorded by Ecuadorian exports in Q1 2023.

 

One of the reasons for this slight increase could be the reduction in banana production in Central America and Colombia due to climatic factors. Several international players requested more bananas from Ecuador in March to meet orders from the United States and the European Union, Acorbanec points out in its report.

 

For this 1st quarter 2024, the main destinations for Ecuadorian bananas are the European Union (30.79% of the total), Russia (19.24%), the Middle East (12.73%), the United States (12.22%) and Africa (6.35%).

According to Salazar, climatic problems played a major role in the drop in exports during this period. In addition, the increase in the minimum price of a case of bananas from 6.50 USD to 6.85 USD this year has led some major markets to reduce their purchases, notably the European Union.

 

Problems at the Panama Canal have also affected banana exports, as transport costs have risen, affecting shipments to Russia and leading to a reduction in purchases from that country.