Ecuador declared a state of emergency for 60 days, due to violent internal conflicts following the escape of two of the leaders of drug trafficking gangs, which reached a peak with the seizure of a television station in the city of Guayaquil.

Given the current situation in the country, we spoke with some actors in the agro-export industry to learn their opinions, the actions they are taking, and whether the sector has been affected by the acts of violence.

Agrocalidad commented that the agency attends daily inspection requests for shipments of vegetable products, where the daily average is 200 inspections, while on emergency days there is a 15% decrease in daily exports of agricultural products from the country.

The executive director of the Association of Marketing and Export of Bananas (Acorbanec), Richard Salazar, says that in the last two years, organized crime has affected their daily work in the field.

"That is why the export sector and the banana sector, in particular, have invested around US$100 million in security systems, satellite tracking, padlocks and surveillance systems," he says.

Salazar added "We had been victims of extortion and kidnappings, not only of our producers and employees, but also of suppliers of products and services related to the banana sector. The government declared a state of emergency a few days ago and in a week of intervention, things in the country have changed radically."

Actions

Agrocalidad informed that it maintains the technical operational team at a national level and phytosanitary inspections for exports are being carried out normally. Therefore, there is no risk that exports cannot be shipped due to the lack of technical personnel.

In addition, most of the documentation processes must be carried out through the agency's Unified Agricultural Information and Management System (GUIA), so exporters are not required to visit the agency's offices. In addition to the use of the e-phyto system, which allows for electronic and digital certificates.

Country image

The agency commented that to date they have not received any official communication from counterparts in other countries regarding any access restrictions. "The logistics and operation of exports may be affected because the production and packaging sites of the products may be close in conflictive zones, which could pause mobilization of products to the ports or shipping points."

Salazar adds that to date they have been able to carry out banana exports normally.

"I believe that the message against crime and drug trafficking is a clear one, where the productive sectors believe that we are on the right path and we support it 100%, for the benefit and security of the country," he says.

Exports

Agrocalidad recommended strengthening communication between small, medium, and large producers to jointly maintain trade strategies and take measures to have more access to domestic and international markets.

The executive director of Acorbanec pointed out that "we have presented a competitive plan, based on security. In addition, we are signing a trade agreement with China and we are waiting for the ratification of the National Assembly."

Salazar mentions that the banana sector is also close to signing an agreement with Korea. "We believe that in the case of China, we could triple our exports to this country."

Mango

The crop, which enjoys great popularity in international markets, already had a 60% reduction in its production volumes due to the presence of El Niño during 2023.

Bernardo Malo, current president of the Mango Ecuador Foundation and general manager of the exporter REFIN S.A., told FreshFruitPortal.com that shipments, which usually end in December, were extended until January and are expected to close this week.

"As a result of the events, we could no longer count on the presence of APHIS and USDA inspectors in the packing plants, who are the ones that certify the fruit to be able to go to the U.S. because a security alert was issued by the American Consulate. They had to abstain from being present at the plants and a lot of product was lost that could not be inspected," explains Malo.

Although the expected rains were much lighter, which allowed shipments to be extended, the U.S. represents approximately 90% of the export destinations for Ecuadorian mango, so the executive qualifies the situation as "very complex."

"I estimate that the country stopped exporting at this point between 15 and 20 export containers, that is, approximately 75,000 to 100,000 boxes," he points out.

Malo assured that, for the time being, production has not been interrupted, so they expect the next season to develop normally.