Major Russian fresh produce importer JFC is aiming to double the banana volumes it sources from Ecuador to meet increased demand in former Soviet republics, according to an official report from the Latin American country.
In its official statement, the Ecuadorian government said that at a meeting with the Andean nation’s vice-president, Lenín Moreno, Russia’s ambassador to Ecuador, Yan Burliay, had expressed his country’s interest in increasing banana imports.
Mr Burliay told Ecuadorian officials that Russia's JFC Group, which is already the biggest buyer of the country’s bananas, wanted “to double its purchases from Ecuador due to the opening of new markets in former Soviet republics”.
Russia, said the ambassador, currently buys an annual total of US$600m worth of bananas from Ecuador, adding that increasing this figure would involve major investments on the part of the Russian importer.
Mr Moreno said there were opportunities for Ecuador to diversify its global markets and invited JFC president Vladimir Keyman, through ambassador Burliay, to visit the country to meet with officials from the production sector.
