Ecuador’s negotiations with the EU over banana tariffs are causing deep division between the country’s banana producers on one side and its exporters on the other.
Exporters Noboa, Cipal, Excelban, Inter, Le Fruit, Exbanecua, Obsa and Secterban are calling on the Ecuadorian government to "manage the situation seriously". They are asking that Eucador’s negotiating committee sticks to its decision to ask for a zero tariff rating or a maximum of e75 a tonne.
But the position of producers Agroban and Asoban could not be more different. They argue that it is possible to accept a tariff of up to e200 a tonne. They say they have been marginalised by the negotiating committee and are threatening to blockade roads and go out on strike if they are not considered part of the team.
But grower’s representative on the committee Arturo Ycaza Vega of Noboa warns that if Ecuador accepts the position proposed by Agroban and Asoban, multinationals with production in Africa will gain EU market position at Ecuador’s expense.
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