Richard Salazar, executive director of the main Ecuadorian banana growers union, assured that no fruit was left in the Andean country and that there were no losses for the sector either.

During the fifteen days that the sanction of five Ecuadorian companies that export bananas to the Russian market lasted, no fruit was lost and no losses were recorded for the sector, said Richard Salazar, executive director of the Banana Marketing and Export Association of Ecuador (Acorbanec). ).

These five companies are part of around 50 that export fruit to Russia, but the companies that were sanctioned represent 25% of those total shipments, that is, about 1.4 million boxes per week, Salazar specified. He reiterated that despite the restrictions that the companies suffered, that fruit did not stay in the country and managed to be exported to Russia, through other companies, and to other markets.

“It was exported through other companies to Russia and another part to other destinations, especially the Middle East and Central Asia. There was no fruit left,” said the head of Acorbanec. With 21% of Ecuadorian banana exports, Russia is the first destination country for the fruit.

The sanction on the Ecuadorian companies was due to the alleged detection of humpback flies in the shipments of these companies, argued the Russian authorities, although at the time the Phyto and Zoosanitary Regulation and Control Agency (Agrocalidad) assured that the humpback fly " “It is not an agricultural pest of bananas and does not attack or affect crops.”

The lifting of the sanction was announced by the Russian authorities on Friday, February 16 and was ratified on Monday, February 19 after the review of the phytosanitary protocols in a technical meeting between Agrocalidad and the Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Control of Russia.

However, despite the fact that companies are now authorized to export to Russia again, Salazar pointed out that the resumption of shipments will occur between this Thursday and Saturday.

For his part, Patricio Almeida, executive director of Agrocalidad, highlighted the lifting of the sanction on Ecuadorian companies. “Our phytosanitary plans and protocols guaranteed the lifting of the sanction.

“We are positioning all our certification processes at the highest level with the commitment to stay on the path of quality and phytosanitary,” said the official.