Alvaro Noboa: Banana Industry Might Collapse in Ecuador

Ecuadorian businessman, Alvaro Noboa

Alvaro Noboa, presidential pre-candidate of Ecuador, denounced the failure in the banana box official payment to the farmers of this product in the country.

“As I am a presidential candidate, hundreds of banana farmers have come to me to complain that some exporters are not paying them the official price. They say that instead of paying them $ 5.50 which is the official price, they are paying them up to 2.50 or 3 dollars a box. “

In a prediction of the situation that the banana industry in Ecuador might be living, he said that a collapse is about to occur in the next three months as a result of the irregularities given in the banana price established by some local exporters.

“Thousands of times the government has offered to demand fair price of 5.50 dollars for the local producers. But those are just words. When there comes the time anything becomes true (…) Ecuador is the one that puts the official price because of its export size. Now that I have received this petition from producers, I believe the only solution is to ask the government officials to stop promises and words and demand every exporter who do not pay the official price to pay it.”

Noboa stressed out that a much deeper involvement might be affecting banana micro exporters in case the situation continues to happen because the banana industry is the biggest employer in the country.

“This (situation) costs the country hundreds of millions of dollars and it costs to producers their bankruptcy (…) I am also a farmer, so I’m on the side of farmers. I see how they work every day to subsist, but with the $ 2 price they will not survive, they will collapse. ” (FL)