A group of independent Ecuadorean banana producers has signed a deal to send direct shipments to China following a successful trial earlier this year.
Agroban says the new contract will run to the end of January 2015, during which time it will ship a total of 418,000 boxes of bananas through the port of Dalian. Executive director, Manuel Romero, is confident that the new agreement will allow the company to establish a firm foothold in the market and raise awareness of its brand.
“China is becoming an increasingly important market,” he told Fruitnet. “Ecuador exported a total of 1.8m boxes of bananas to China in 2013 and by the end of March this year shipments had already reached 1.4m boxes.”
Romero says the frequency of sailings has improved, with weekly services between Ecuador and China now firmly established.
