Acorbanec's most recent report states that Ecuador exported 256.59 million boxes of bananas between January and September 2022, an 8.09% decrease over the same period of the previous year that was mainly driven by smaller shipments to key markets, such as the European Union and the United States.
According to the report, the country exported 24,061,822 boxes of bananas to the US market (-16.04%) and 67,345,042 boxes to Europe (-12.6%). There was also a decline in exports to smaller markets, such as East Asia (-11.36%), Eastern Europe (-51.44%, mainly because of Ukraine), and Africa (-37.41%). Shipments to Russia fell by 0.04%.
The lower sales are attributed to several factors, including lower production due to the cold and lack of maintenance in certain crops.
"Production is unstable and has atypical behaviors due to climate factors. There are no significant upsurges in baggings, which means that there will be no production peaks as in other years," the report states.
Regarding the Russian market, Acorbanec said that "in February, as the war between Russia and Ukraine started, the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Japan, Canada, and Australia imposed several sanctions against Russia, which have caused great economic problems in Russia. The ruble experienced a high devaluation (almost 60% in a month) that increased the price of imported products, such as bananas, so consumer consumption of our fruit decreased as consumers prioritized buying other products."
Source: expreso.ec