Ecuadorian banana exports reported growth at the end of last year, despite a challenging year in terms of weather conditions, logistical obstacles and local context factors such as energy rationing and security.
Ecuador accumulated a total of 364.16 million boxes of bananas exported by the end of 2024, which represents an increase of 5.06 million boxes (1.42%) compared to the same period in 2023.
Despite the reduction in demand in Russia (-11.54%) and the Middle East (-6.66%), the increase in shipments in other regions such as the European Union (3.18%), the United States (24.85%), the Southern Cone (12.95%), Eastern Europe (30.05%), Asia (4.92%) and EFTA Europe (24.50%) have helped to boost the performance of the sector, managing to exceed the figures for the previous year.
In the European Union, cumulative exports increased by 3.26 million boxes compared to 2023, despite the fact that in the last months of the year, arrivals of dollar-denominated bananas reported a decrease.
The countries with the most notable growth are Malta (244.5%), France (118.1%), Italy (33%) and Germany (14.9%). To these three destinations, an estimated additional 8.27 million boxes have been shipped by the end of the year.
In Asia, a positive variation was achieved with 1.09 million additional boxes (4.92%), where the growth of South Korea (220.9%) stands out with a total of 2.98 million additional boxes exported to this market.
In contrast, Russia closed with negative values, with 8.75 million fewer boxes. China, a destination with expectations of improvement after the signing of the FTA, also closed with a negative rate, with 2.3 million boxes not being sent to this country (-14.96%).
Adverse logistical conditions were a continuous obstacle that the sector had to overcome during the year. In the first half of 2024, drought in Panama and conflicts in the Red Sea meant delays and restrictions for shipping flows.
Subsequently, after overcoming these conditions, the limited availability of containers in the last months of the year meant that logistical challenges continued.
At the local level, security-related circumstances and energy rationing resulted in interruptions in both transportation and the continuity of productive activities in the different parts of the value chain.
The adaptability of the chain's actors has been key to maintaining productive operations and commercial flow to guarantee the export of the fruit.
On the other hand, the climate was one of the main challenges for the production sector. Starting in the second half of the year, average temperatures were consistently lower than those of 2023 and in most weeks temperatures below 25 °C were reported.
In addition to the suboptimal temperatures, droughts were also reported in areas of the El Oro province during the last months of the year. This led to a lower banana supply than that reported in 2023 for several consecutive weeks.
By December (SM49-52), the average monthly casing at the national level was 38.19 casings/ha compared to the 41.42 reported in 2023, thus closing the year with a lower yield.
At the company level, some companies managed to increase their export level. Among them, Ubesa (22.47%), Interbananaexport (44.49%) and Frutadeli (12.89%) stand out. Together, these companies sent 11.62 million additional boxes compared to 2023 levels.
On the other hand, companies such as Exporbanana (-31.05%) and Agzulasa (-18.73%) experienced a decrease in their export level.
