It’s Banana Time: Ecuador’s largest sector convention targets sustainability and supply chain strength
Add Fresh Fruit Portal to GoogleA produce aisle staple is getting its moment in the spotlight. Bananas, famous for their convenient price and grab-and-go perks, will be front and center at the 23rd Banana Time Guayaquil, to be held between October 28 and 30 in Ecuador.
Gathering under the slogan "Connect to Grow," the convention will bring together growers, exporters, suppliers, shipping lines, port operators, government officials, academics, and international experts.
"Ecuador is the world's largest banana exporter, which is why this meeting carries a shared responsibility," said José Antonio Hidalgo, Executive President of the Association of Ecuadorian Banana Exporters (AEBE).
Organizers expect more than 5,500 attendees at the event, which comes on the heels of robust export growth. Between January and August, Ecuador exported 282.28 million boxes of bananas, a 10 percent increase from 2025 numbers. As usual, Europe accounted for nearly half of that growth, importing 91.6 million boxes during that period, representing a 15 percent year-on-year surge.
Ecuadorian growers to assess production, biosecurity, and trade
The three-day technical agenda focuses on strengthening the production base, protecting crops against phytosanitary threats, and preserving fruit value through final delivery.
Opening day sessions will address measuring and strengthening production through satellite mapping tools, soil and water management, and farm preparation for El Niño weather events.
The program will also cover plant health, specifically preventing and containing Tropical Race 4 (TR4) Fusarium wilt and moko disease through international phytosanitary frameworks, risk-based surveillance, and verifiable biosecurity protocols across farms, public roads, and packing facilities.
The final day will cover export integrity and market demands, including customs controls, post-harvest care, packaging and refrigerated freight costs, disease-resistant varieties, and compliance costs associated with destination market regulations such as the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), maximum residue limits, due diligence, and living wages.
"These are the concrete challenges facing the industry today," Hidalgo told FreshFruitPortal.com. "We want what is shared at Banana Time to translate into practical tools so that producers and exporters can make better decisions."
Culinary competitions and networking for international buyers
The trade show floor will feature more than 90 exhibiting companies and 101 brands representing agricultural inputs, banking, shipping, box manufacturing, ports, and technology, with nearly a quarter of exhibitors originating from outside Ecuador.
On October 29, the event will host the Banana Innovation Challenge, a culinary competition featuring live cooking demonstrations that highlight bananas' gastronomic potential.
Parallel events include a multilateral meeting with executives from the World Bank and the International Finance Corporation on sector financing, as well as an executive breakfast with IFEMA Madrid leadership, the organizer of Fruit Attraction.
Additional program highlights feature the first Agro Woman Meeting, part of AEBE's "Sowers of the Future" initiative, featuring Rosa Rodríguez of the Heifer Ecuador Foundation and Josselyn Vega, recognized as a Top Agri-food Pioneer 2026 by the World Food Prize Foundation. Olympic champion Richard Carapaz will also speak about professional athletics and banana consumption as an energy source.
"For a buyer, it is the opportunity to meet producers and exporters in one place and discuss quality, traceability, logistics, and destination market requirements," Hidalgo noted, recommending attendance for industry professionals seeking reliable information and stronger supply chain collaboration.
*Photos courtesy of AEBE.
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