The Middle East and Central Asia buy Ecuadorian bananas that have not been able to reach Russia

Published Feb 15, 2024

Tridge summary

Ecuadorian banana companies, previously sanctioned by the Russian Government due to the alleged presence of the humpback fly in banana containers, are now exporting their products to the Middle East and Central Asia. This shift comes after Russia suspended five Ecuadorian exporters, a first in 25 years of trade between the two nations. Despite this, the director of the Banana Marketing and Export Association (Acorbanec) emphasized that no market can fully replace Russia, which was a major importer of Ecuadorian bananas. The sanction occurred amidst political tensions between the two countries, following Ecuador's decision to send Russian weapons to the United States as 'scrap'.

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Original content

Ecuadorian banana companies sanctioned by the Russian Government since February 5, 2024 are sending bananas that have not managed to reach Russia to countries in the Middle East and Central Asia. "The fruit is not staying in the country, we are in a time of high demand for bananas," confirmed Richard Salazar, director of the Banana Marketing and Export Association (Acorbanec). Some countries to which these volumes of bananas that were to arrive in Russia would be being sent are Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Iraq. However, Salazar clarified that, although the sector is placing the product in other destinations, there is no market that can supply 100% of what Russia buys. "I don't want to think about a total closure of the market," says the union representative. In 2023, Ecuador exported 75 million boxes of bananas to Russia, which represents 21% of Ecuador's total banana shipments to the world, according to Acorbanec ...

Source: Primicias