In W18 in the banana landscape, the Association of Banana Exporters of Ecuador (Acorbanec) reported that from January to March of 2023, Ecuador exported 99.86M cartons of bananas, an increase of 4.57% compared to the same period in 2022 but a decrease considering the 103M cartons in 2021. Ecuadorian banana exports were mainly to the European Union, with a participation of 31.88%, 23.53% to Russia, 12.54% to the Middle East, 10.26% to the United States, 6.22% to the Southern Cone, 4.53% to Africa, 4.31% to East Asia, 2.76% to Central Asia, 1.44% to Eastern Europe, 1.28% to the United Kingdom, 0.80% to Oceania (New Zealand), 0.37% to EVA (Norway), 0.01% to Canada and 0.07% to other markets. Type 22xu boxes were the most exported, covering 87.74% of the total, followed by type 208 boxes at 8.40%, organic bananas at 3.50%, Baby banana-type boxes at 0.35%, and Red Bananas at 0.01%. The Ministry of Agriculture of Ecuador has given a 10-day deadline for all members of the banana chain to provide the necessary documentation to enforce the payment of the minimum support price of USD 6.50/box. Failure to comply with this requirement may lead to imprisonment as per Article 308 of the Comprehensive Organic Penal Code. However, small producers are selling their bananas below the minimum support price but are being taxed based on the set price. To address this issue, the Assembly is discussing the bill that seeks to regulate the production and marketing of bananas. Ecuadorian banana producers are supporting the inclusion of the spot price system in the bill to regulate the production and marketing of bananas, which is undergoing its second debate in the National Assembly of Ecuador. The lack of recognition of the spot price in the law harms small producers to pay taxes on the PSM. The spot price for bananas in the first six weeks of 2023 was an average of USD 10.50/box, higher than the current PSM of USD 6.50/box. In addition, banana growers in Ecuador believe that the trade agreement with China, set to be signed on May 10th, will allow the consolidation of the Asian market. The banana sector expects to double its exports to China in less than two years as bananas will enter with a 0% tariff.
The average wholesale price for bananas from Europe was USD 126.03/100 kg (EUR 115/kg) in Spain. In Portugal, the price stood at USD 219.19/100 kg (EUR 200). While the average wholesale price of bananas from Latin America stood at USD 147.95/100 kg (EUR 135/100 kg) in the Netherlands. The wholesale price for bananas in Italy was USD 142.47/100 kg (EUR 130/100 kg), and USD 154.53/100 kg (EUR 141/100 kg) in Germany. Iran imported 572K tons of fresh and dried bananas worth USD 374.48M in the FY 2022/23, a decrease of 5% in weight and a 7% decrease in value compared to the previous year. Bananas were imported from Ecuador, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Italy, Pakistan, Turkey, China, the Philippines, Colombia, and India. Turkey was the top exporter with 332K tons, followed by India with 130K tons. Lastly, in the United Kingdom, the average wholesale price of bananas in the markets of Birmingham and London stood at USD 1.32/kg (EUR 1.20) for bananas from Belize.
