Ecuador has guaranteed corn supply only until October

If the El Niño phenomenon arrives strongly in Ecuador, there could be a production deficit of 150,000 tons of corn. “Right now you can sow in the highlands. But, if El Niño catches us, there would be a deficit because planting would stop in the low-lying areas," explains Henry Peña, president of the Corporación de Maizeros Ecuador Productivo. Since the beginning of June, farmers in Manabí have been reaping what they sowed in the winter. In Ventanas, Los Ríos province, the harvest has already finished and they began to plant corn in the highlands. In the lowlands, planting has not yet been done because the soils were saturated with water from the rains, adds Peña, who calculates that the winter harvest will cover demand at least until October 2023. Every year, the corn sector sows around 260,000 hectares for an annual production of close to 1.3 million tons. The provinces with the highest production are Los Ríos and Manabí. "We are worried" "We are concerned because the sector ...