Ecuador’s national association of banana exporters (AEBE) has urged the country’s president, Rafael Correa, to reopen negotiations with the European Union over setting a more favourable import tariff for its exports.
The association’s president, Eduardo Ledesma, has called on the Ecuadorian leader to “push for talks” with the EU with a view to agreeing a lower tariff for Ecuador’s banana exports to bring it into line with Europe’s trade deals with Costa Rica and Colombia.
In an interview with Spanish news agency EFE, Mr Ledesma said he was “concerned” that there “had not yet been an official reaction” by Ecuador’s government to restart trade negotiations with the EU to lower the tariff level.
Ecuadorian banana exporters currently pay E148 per tonne to enter the EU market, compared with a tariff of E145 per tonne for Colombian and Costa Rican bananas.
