The banana cluster held a meeting in Guayaquil with President Guillermo Lasso on Friday, July 16. In the meeting, they presented to the president four axes to promote this important Ecuadorian sector.
The union considered the need to implement the simplified unified return of taxes (drawback) in an equitable manner for the export sectors. “The drawback, recognized in article 157 of the Organic Code of Production, Trade, and Investments, must be implemented to reduce the impact on the competitiveness of the local industry due to the increases in cardboard and plastic costs, as well as the reduction shipping space and increased freight costs," they stated.
They also discussed the threat of the Fusarium oxysporum Tropical race 4 and the contamination of containers with narcotics. On this last point, the union proposed working on a comprehensive security program that guarantees the future of Musaceae exports.
President Guillermo Lasso said that the union had the support of the Presidency to develop inter-ministerial prevention work against Fusarium R4T.
"Having exporters and producers together in a single group is a very important step and we are taking some measures to control drug trafficking due to the negative impact this has on exports," he added.
The fourth axis raised by the banana sector was to make trade agreements with the Eurasian zone, Russia, East Asia, China, Korea, and Japan. “They are essential given the growth potential of the Musaceae sector in these markets. Currently, Ecuadorian exports are uncompetitive when compared to other banana-producing countries that do have these agreements,” the cluster stated.
The meeting was attended by representatives of the Ecuadorian Banana Exporters Association (AEBE), the Banana Marketing and Export Association (Acorbanec), and the Ecuadorian Banana Regional Corporation (Agroban), among others.
Source: eluniverso.com