Banana exports from Ecuador are reportedly to forecast to fall this year as a result of the financial crisis and weather conditions on end markets, coupled with low productivity in the South American country.
Shipments are on course to reduce by 40m boxes, the Ecuadorean Banana Industry Association (Asisbane) told El Comercio.
The negative outlook has not been seen since 1982 when the agricultural industry suffered the consequences of the El Niño phenomenon, Asisbane said.
Although Ecuador recovered from this situation the report claims that three decades later low productivity and a lack of trade agreements are threatening the business.
Ecuador has historically been the biggest banana exporter to the European Union (EU) but in the last five years Ecuador has shared the position of leadership with Colombia, albeit by the smallest of differences, El Comercio explained.
According to data from Trade Map, Ecuador held a 19 per cent share of the EU-27 banana market in 2008, while Colombia represented 19.20 per cent of the business.
The following year, however, Trade Map data indicated that Ecuador accounted for 19.10 per cent, while Colombia had a 19.14 per cent share.
Later Ecuador managed to recoup its position of leadership and last year sent US$1.2bn-worth of bananas to the EU, or 20 per cent of the market’s volume, compared with Colombia’s 19 per cent, the report said.
