Ecuador exported 99.86 million boxes of bananas between January and March of 2023, i.e. 4.57% more than in the same period of 2022, but still less than the 103 million boxes it exported in the same period of 2021, according to data shared by the Acorbanec Banana Marketing and Export Association.
31.88% of the 99.86 million boxes exported in the first quarter of 2023 went to the European Union, the main market for this fruit in this period; 23.53%, to Russia; 12.54% to the Middle East; 10.26%, to the United States; 6.22%, to the Southern Cone; 4.53% to Africa; 4.31% to East Asia; 2.76% to Central Asia; 1.44%, to Eastern Europe; 1.28% to the United Kingdom; 0.80% to Oceania (New Zealand); 0.37%, to EFTA (Norway); 0.01% to Canada; and 0.07% to other markets.
Exports to the European Union increased by 25.15%, exports to Russia by 10.62%, to the United States by 10.98%, to the United Kingdom by 30.64%, to Central Asia by 13.23%, and to Oceania by 9.02%. However, exports to the Middle East fell by 19.53%, to East Asia by 14.65%, to Eastern Europe by 61.84% (mainly because of the drastic reduction in exports to Ukraine due to the conflict with Russia), to EFTA by 12.49%, and to Canada by 26.92%.
Russia was the main destination country with a 23.53% share. It was followed by the United States with 10.98%, the Netherlands with 7.93% and a 38.92% increase in imports, Turkey with 4.60% (despite having decreased its purchases by 34.89% over the previous year), and Germany with a 4.76% share and a 56.24% increase in purchases over the previous year.
An interesting fact that Acorbanec shares in its latest report on banana exports from Ecuador is related to the sale prices of the fruit. The Minimum Support Price of a box of bananas in the country is 6.50 dollars per box and the spot price from January to March (taking into account the values registered in Los Rios, Guayas, and El Oro) was 9.15 dollars, i.e. 40.8% higher than the price of the contracts. The spot price even got to 13.25 dollars (+103.8%) in Los Rios in week 4.
For more information:
Acorbanec
https://acorbanec.com