Emergency Measure was Approved due to Banana Crisis

Ministry of Agriculture, Stanley Vera signs decree

The excess of banana production in the Ecuadorian market will be bought by the Estate to alleviate the crisis that the country is suffering due to banana crate price decrease. Such measure will be taken next week according to the decree of the Minister of Agriculture, Stanley Vera.

The emergency measure was taken yesterday after a meeting with the Ministry, the banana producers and exporters from Quito. The producers complained about the underpayment of the banana crate since its current price is USD 5,5 however they are receiving $1 per crate, and in some cases they are not even bought.

According to Vera the purchase of the excess of the banana production will be bought with a trust fund that was created over a year and a half. This sum already is an amount of $15 million. The money comes from a discount made to the value of every crate. At the moment it is unknown how much will the government pay for each cluster. There is also the possibility of selling the excess production to Cuba.

The current crisis that the banana sector suffers is because of the lower prices in the international market, the lower demand, the increase of national production, market issues and the world economy. These factors caused that the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries (MAGAP) to decree an emergency in that sector for five weeks. (AV)

Source: El Comercio Newspaper