Unblocking the Suez Canal generates expectation in Ecuadorian exporters due to the possible impacts

Ecuadorian cargo that goes to the Middle East circulates through that Egyptian route.

Bananas, wood and a part of Ecuador's aquaculture and fishing products transit the maritime route of the cSuez analto reach Middle Eastern markets.

Hence, exporters who send their products to that area are waiting to see what happens with the unblocking of that channel located in Egypt.

That shipping lane, which reduces transit time between Europe and Asia and links the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea, was blocked on Tuesday after the huge shipEver Given,399.94 long and 59 wide, ran aground in the area.

Preliminary investigations suggest that the ship ran aground due to strong wind, according to the cargo management company.

This situation generated the accumulation of ships in both seas and in recent hours aroused global concern about the effects that this could bring to trade. 10% of global maritime trade passes through the canal and 25% of containers.

Egypt announced this Thursday that navigation in the Suez Canal has been temporarily suspended until the Panama-flagged cargo ship Ever Given is refloated. That operation, according to experts, could take weeks if the entire container ship unloads.

José Antonio Hidalgo, executive director of the Association of Banana Exporters of Ecuador (AEBE),He said that they are monitoring the situation because there is Ecuadorian banana cargo that circulates along that route to reach Middle Eastern nations.

The concern is that the fruit is perishable and must reach the markets on time to avoid ripening. “If there are bananas on that route and there is a lot of waiting, we are a perishable product, which cannot wait many days and can cause some damage,” he said.

The leader did not specify if there are currently containers of Ecuadorian fruit in that sector because they were collecting data. In that sense, he pointed out that it was early to quantify the degree of impact.

Until week eight of this year, the Middle East was capturing 11.34% of Ecuadorian fruit, according to AEBE figures.

Richard Salazar, executive director of the Banana Marketing and Export Association,He considered that if the situation is not resolved soon there will be a negative impact on the fruit that goes to the Middle East.

He pointed out that a part of the bananas goes to Türkiye and another is distributed to destinations such as the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Iraq. Salazar fears that oil prices will rise and that this will affect shipping rates.

TheNational Chamber of Aquacultureindicated this Thursday morning that they have not yet registered an impact from what happened in the Suez Canal.

As in other markets, exporters expect a quick solution, since if the blockage in the canal is prolonged, impacts may be generated.

Felipe Ribadeneira, president of the Ecuadorian Federation of Exporters,pointed out that among the direct effects are thatFreights that cross the channel register logistical delays and possible variations in costof shipping freight that use that route.

The sectors that could feel this impact are bananas, wood and a portion of aquaculture and fishing products that are sent through that route, stated the union leader.

Fernando Donoso, president of the Maritime Chamber of Ecuador,He agreed that if there are ships with Ecuadorian cargo they will have delays to their final destinations because the congestion in that area delays the flow.

He explained that the routes that Ecuador has with Asia use the Pacific to navigate and do not cross the Suez Canal route. “Perhaps cargoes that go to the Mediterranean and then cross to the Middle East may be affected, that route complicates traffic between Europe and Asia,” he indicated.

The Japanese firmShoei Kisen Kaisha, owner of the stranded ship Ever Given,has apologized for the disruption of world trade due to the incident and has highlighted that unsealing the ship is being extremely difficult, according to the British television network.BBC.

And freeing the ship is a matter that becomes complex.Peter Berdowski, director of the dredging company Boskalis,He said on Dutch television that the ship is like a very heavy whale on the beach.

According to their data “it is not really possible to release it” andit might be necessary to download it, but that's a process that could take weeks. (YO)

The route of the Ever Given

-The ship's operator, Evergreen Marine Corp, based in Taiwan, said that the ship - which was sailing from the Chinese port of Yantian to Rotterdam, in the Netherlands - ran aground “probably after being hit by a gust of wind.”

-The incident “was mainly due to the lack of visibility due to weather conditions, while the winds reached 40 knots (74 km/h), which affected the control of the ship,” the Egyptian Canal Authority said on Wednesday. of Suez (SCA) in a statement.

-According to Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement (BSM), the Singapore-based company in charge of the technical management of the ship, all 25 crew members are safe and there was no pollution or damage to the ship's cargo, with a capacity of more than 20,000 containers (TEU).