Ecuador is closer to exporting mango to South Korea. Agrocalidad announced that the negotiation of the phytosanitary protocol with the Asian country has already ended. On April 23, South Korea's Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency (APQA) issued an official notification confirming that mango exports must be subjected to hydrothermal treatment, a measure South Korea required after verifying its effectiveness with an on-site visit in 2022.
Felipe Ribadeneira, executive president of the Ecuadorian Federation of Exporters, Fedexpor, highlighted the end of these negotiations as a significant advance, which allows Ecuador to export mango to South Korea despite the current 30% tariff on the product. This agreement is part of the Strategic Economic Cooperation Agreement (SECA) between Ecuador and South Korea which will reduce tariffs annually until they reach 0% in ten years.
Currently, South Korea imports mango mainly from Thailand (55%), Peru (22%), Vietnam (9%), Brazil (8%), and the Philippines (2%). Unlike Ecuador, Peru exports mangoes to South Korea without tariffs thanks to a trade agreement, which has allowed it to become its second-largest supplier with 27,000 tons per year.
In 2023, Ecuador didn't export mango to any Asian country. However, it did export 27,000 tons of mango worth 28 million dollars abroad, a decrease compared to the previous year. According to Fedexpor, mango was Ecuador's fifth most exported fruit in 2023, after bananas, plantains, pitahaya, and pineapples. In 2023, Ecuador exported its mango to 15 countries. Its main destination markets were the United States (93%), Canada (3%), the European Union (1%), Colombia (1%), and New Zealand (0.7%).
Source: eluniverso.com