Minister of Foreign Trade Garcia: Ecuador is ready to remove all questions from the Russian Federation on bananas
Ecuador has provided Russia with a technical justification for lifting restrictions on banana supplies, the country's Minister of Foreign Trade, Sonsoles García, said.
The Ecuadorian government wants to get to the bottom of this from a technical point of view, and we are confident that we can refute any arguments against the export of our bananas
She added that all necessary documents have been transferred to Russia. The minister also noted that the first reports from Moscow about the presence of humpback flies in bananas came in 2018, and since then all necessary measures have been taken.
On Monday, Ecuador's Foreign Trade Ministry also said the insect “is not an agricultural pest of bananas and does not attack or damage crops.”
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Russia has limited supplies of bananas from five enterprises in Ecuador
Rosselkhoznadzor of Russia decided to suspend supplies of bananas to the country from five enterprises in Ecuador from February 5 due to the detection of a quarantine pest in them – the polyphagous humpback fly. The agency asked the head of the Ecuadorian Ministry of Agriculture, Franklin Danilo Palacios Marquez, to take action against organizations with the largest number of violations.
Later, the department limited the supply of carnations grown in Ecuador to the country from February 9. Flower products from this country enter the Russian Federation through the European Union – the Netherlands, Germany, Latvia and Lithuania. The Russian department sent a request to terminate the certification of Ecuadorian carnations to the authorized bodies of European states due to the identification of another pest in them – flower thrips.
This is not the first time that claims regarding the humpback fly have been made against banana suppliers from Ecuador. In particular, Rosselkhoznadzor announced them at the end of 2019. It was noted then that the country accounts for 96 percent of all banana imports into the Russian Federation. At the same time, Russia is one of the main buyers of this fruit, accounting for 20 percent of Ecuador’s exports under the corresponding item.
Against the backdrop of Western sanctions imposed in 2022, logistical problems have arisen with the supply of bananas. As a result, in 2023 this type of product became one of the leaders in retail price growth in Russia.
Banana exports to Russia are not completely closed
Richard Salazar, head of the banana trade and export association (Acorbanec), in an interview RIA News noted that the measures taken by Russia affected only 30 percent of supplies from Ecuador, which are carried out by five companies.
It is important to note that the export of bananas to Russia is not closed, today only these five companies, we continue to export generally as normal
Previously, it was reported that Ecuador could lose hundreds of millions of dollars due to a ban on the import of bananas and carnations to Russia. Over the 11 months of 2023, the country exported bananas to the Russian Federation worth $690 million, with an average monthly supply volume of $63 million (753.5 million per year). At the same time, the total export of Ecuadorian bananas is estimated at $3.3 billion – a fifth of these fruits are supplied to Russia.
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India will supply bananas to Russia
Rosselkhoznadzor reported that India will supply bananas to Russia. At the moment, the absolute leader in the import of these products is Ecuador.
The department clarified that the first batch of bananas from India was sent to Russia in January 2024, the second is expected before the end of February.
The issue of access to Indian fruits, in particular bananas, has been discussed by the parties for several years. The result of the joint work was the shipment of the first batch of bananas from India to Russia in January 2024, the next delivery is planned until the end of February this year
Supplies will be increased in the future. It is noted that at the negotiations between Rosselkhoznadzor and representatives of the Indian Ministry of Agriculture they also discussed mangoes, pineapples, papaya and guava from this country.
Currently, there are no restrictions on the import of fruits and vegetables from India to Russia; Indian fruits can be freely supplied to the country with the provision of a phytosanitary certificate.
Russia did not see any prerequisites for a banana shortage
Chairman of the Presidium of the Association of Retail Trade Companies (AKORT) Igor Karavaev believes that there are no prerequisites for a shortage of bananas in Russia; suppliers have experience in restructuring logistics and maintaining the assortment.
Based on the experience of previous sanction years, we have already seen how trade and suppliers effectively restructured logistics and retained in their assortment goods that were familiar to the Russian consumer. Therefore, we should not expect a crisis with bananas in the coming months
He added that retail chains are exploring alternative supply routes in the event of a complete ban on imports from Ecuador. This situation will require the conclusion of new contracts and will provoke additional costs for supplier
s.
Karavaev recalled that India is among the world leaders in banana production; it produces almost five times more of this fruit than Ecuador. The top ten countries also include China, Indonesia, Brazil, Ecuador, the Philippines, Angola, Guatemala, Tanzania, Costa Rica, Colombia, Mexico and Peru.
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