The Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MAG) of Ecuador announced on Wednesday, October 7, that the Advisory Council that will define the minimum support price (PMS) of the banana box for 2021 will meet on October 16.
The authorities will meet with representatives of the producers and exporters to discuss the price for the new season. Then they will issue the Ministerial Agreement setting the price for 2021. If no agreement is reached at the advisory table, the value will be set by the MAG in a period of no more than 10 business days.
In the last two years, there has been no consensus agreement between the parties.
The current price of the 18.14 kg box of bananas is $6.40. According to exporters, it would be appropriate to maintain the price that is in force this year so that the sector doesn't lose competitiveness in international markets. Producers, on the other hand, proposed that the price of the box rises to 7.05 dollars due to high production costs.
The president of the National Federation of Banana Producers of Ecuador (Fenabe), Franklin Torres, said the sector's proposal was made in accordance with the current Banana Law. That is, taking into account the sum of production costs and adding a reasonable profit.
Source: elcomercio.com