The much-needed rain arrived in Ecuador last month (January) but the bananas and exotic fruit plantations still have a way to go to recover to full production volumes according to the local industry. David Velez, sales manager of Ecuadorian exporter Roses & Fresh Fruits by Ayelen Living Memories, notes "In these first months of the year we have very little production due to the drought we experienced in the previous months."
He says as a result of the prolonged drought of last year there is a high disease burden on the plants. "The slime disease is dragging on for the musaceae that are plantain, banana, and baby banana, which is recovering and we're trying to protect the crops."
His company grows and exports yellow dragon fruit (pitahaya), with exports that are currently low due to limited space on ships from Ecuador. This forces them to take the more expensive route and send the fruit by air. "In the case of the yellow pitahaya we are in production, but the few shipping spaces do not help the producer to transport the fruit. We have very high costs to send by air and that affects sales since it makes the product more expensive for the final consumer. But, we are pleased to serve the clients who require our tropical fruit products. We are also exporting cocoa pods to the United States. Our pitahaya is exported all over the world, but most of it goes to Spain, the United States, and China."
The other effect of the drought in Ecuador was the low water level as the country relies on a network of hydroelectric power plants. This caused the country to implement power cuts. Velez says that is now behind them. "We are no longer in drought; the reality is that the rains have arrived since the beginning of January. If there is more water and it is being managed so that there are more thermoelectric plants so as not to depend on hydroelectric plants, the government is managing that."
The company also exports other produce to different markets says Velez in conclusion, "We also have some products that we can send from Peru such as Hass avocado, mandarin, ginger, granadilla and several more. It is exported to all countries. At this time it is being sent by air to the United States because there are no shipping spaces to send by sea."
For more information:
David Velez
Roses & Fresh Fruits by Ayelen Living Memories
Tel: +593 99 637 1030
d.velez@rosesbyayelen.com