The Russian-Ukrainian war hits South America's "banana country" Ecuador

 

Ecuador has always been the main import channel for bananas from Russia and Ukraine
.
Data show that in 2021, Ecuador will export a total of 6.
8 million tons of bananas, of which 1.
51 million tons will be sold to Russia, accounting for about 22%
.
As early as 2019, Ecuadorian banana exports totaled US$3.
43 billion, and exports to Russia accounted for 18.
9% of the total, reaching US$617 million
.
By comparison, the United States accounted for 14.
1 percent of exports, worth $484 million
.
In addition, according to a report by the Ukrainian Fruit and Vegetable Association, Ukraine’s banana imports reached a record high in 2019, an increase of 8%-9% over 2018 to 270,000-275,000 tons; in 2019, Ukraine’s per capita banana consumption exceeded six kg
.

 

At the same time, the total value of Ukrainian banana imports has surpassed that of apples
.
East-Fruit quoted Kateryna Zvereva, director of the development department of the Ukrainian Fruit and Vegetable Association, saying: "This situation is caused by many factors - firstly for Ukrainian consumers, bananas are no longer a new exotic fruit, now bananas It is already at a very high level in China's consumer culture
.
"

 

　　The confident director of the Development Department of the Ukrainian Fruit and Vegetable Association said this.
Three years later, bananas imported to Ukraine and Russia are already facing the fate of being unable to transport
.
Before the conflict, Ecuador was exporting about 1.
8 million boxes of bananas to Russia and about 180,000 boxes to Ukraine each week, according to the Ecuadorian state official responsible for coordinating banana exports
.
Within a week of the conflict, 400,000 boxes of bananas were stranded
.
In early March, about 765,000 boxes of bananas were at risk of not being transported
.
This is not because of sanctions, but because the devaluation of the ruble means that Russia can no longer pay for these bananas
.
In addition, the conflict in Eastern Europe is likely to cause serious disruption to refrigerated transportation, and Russia, as a major import and export market, will be greatly affected
.
At present, the Russian-Ukrainian fruit market continues to have a demand for goods, but this market demand is useless and cannot be met due to the unwillingness of container shipping companies to serve the war-torn region
.
It is reported that many of the goods that have been shipped to Russia and Ukraine have been unable to unload due to the war situation
.

 

　　On the one hand, Russia and Ukraine are "looking for bananas and sighing", and on the other hand, Ecuador's banana industry has also suffered a blow
.
Because Ecuador has almost no domestic market for bananas, almost all crops are grown for export
.
According to Ecuadorian media reports, banana farmers in the provinces of Guayas, Los Rios and El Oro recently put a large number of bananas on the streets, asking the government to allocate funds to buy the backlog of bananas
.
Local banana farmers have complained that not only have banana exports plummeted, but prices have also plummeted
.
Before the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, the price of a box of bananas was between $3.
50 and $6, but it has fallen to between six cents and $1.
30 at this stage
.

 

　　One proposal to ease the situation is a five-cent tax on every box of Ecuadorian bananas sold
.
The money will be used to buy fruit from smallholders (those with an area of ​​less than 30 hectares) to prevent oversupply
.
Last year, before the war broke out, Ecuador and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) had been seeking talks to improve trade relations
.
The EAEU consists of an integrated market including Russia, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Belarus
.