The Chinese market: potential growth for Ecuadorian bananas

At the gates of the new lunar year and with the upcoming visit of the president of Ecuador, Guillermo Lasso, to China to discuss a trade agreement, we hope that the year of the tiger brings strength and fortune to trade relations between the two countries.

Banana, along with shrimp, is one of Ecuador's main export products. In fact, Ecuador is the world's leading banana exporter. In 2021, it exported a total of 378.2 million boxes. In terms of consumption, Asia-Pacific leads the banana market covering 61%; and their per capita consumption is on the rise. Although China is also a producing country, bananas are one of its main imported fruits; in addition, there is a significant demand for high-quality imported fruit in its market. At the same time, there is increasing recognition of the quality of bananas of Ecuadorian origin, which represents a market growth opportunity for this fruit.

What makes the Ecuadorian banana stand out? To begin with, the fertile land and tropical climate of Ecuador is the perfect environment for growing this fruit throughout the year. This also gives our fruit a sweetness and texture that makes it more exquisite on the palate. In turn, the environmental factor ensures that our bananas have a long green life to travel to distant destinations such as China and arrive in optimal conditions. But in addition to this, for several years now, Ecuadorian producers have been implementing the best social and environmental practices, something that differentiates us from our Asian competitors.

The Chinese market is highly competitive. Among the main banana exporters to that territory are the Philippines, Cambodia and Laos.

Vicente Wong, CEO of Reybanpac states that “our strategic position in Asia must improve if we work hand in hand as a private and public sector to obtain results in the short and medium term. The increase in transportation and input costs have impacted our competitiveness in the Far East. Hence, an intelligent free trade agreement and an internal competitiveness agenda with the sector is a necessity to grow and consolidate in China. We are at a key moment with our Asian competitors and we must work hard on productivity, sustainability and our logistics chain in order to achieve sustained growth.”

Historically, the Chinese market has always been one of Reybanpac's main clients, since our company was the first to export Ecuadorian bananas to that destination. Several decades later, we continue to strive to offer the best product and meet the specific needs of the local consumer. Part of our goals in 2022 is to continue to consolidate ourselves in the Chinese market, strengthen our existing business relationships, and create new alliances that will last over time. Always based on transparency and mutual trust.

We are optimistic that the trade agreement that may arise between Ecuador and China will bring broad benefits to both nations. Within this, we hope it will be a trigger for Chinese consumers to have greater access to our high-quality bananas; which we cultivate and export with pride and dedication.