Twelve exporters agreed to return $1.3 million that they had not paid to banana producers for the official price of the fruit

The companies have already paid $657,876 and will pay the difference in the coming days, said Minister Bernardo Manzano.

There is progress in the results of the controls so that the minimum support price for the box of bananas is paid, which is currently $6.25. According to the Minister of Agriculture and Livestock, Bernardo Manzano, twelve exporters reached a payment agreement with banana producers to cancel the difference that had not been paid for the official price of the fruit.

Manzano revealed this Wednesday, in Guayaquil, that the agreed value was $1,347,369, of which the exporters, of which he did not give details, have already paid $657,876 to the producers; and the difference, $689,493, will be paid in the coming days.

The official assured that this payment is the result of the audits that the State portfolio initiated on the exporters last July.

"Thanks to this management that we have carried out in the audits, the private companies, which are the exporters, have sat down with the small producers and have reached payment agreements to return what they had not paid," explained Manzano, who highlighted the importance of bananas in the national economy by ensuring that they represent 18.1% of the country's total exports to all its destinations.

He revealed that to date audits have been carried out on 72 exporters of the 245 that operate in the country, as well as the 15 exporter associations; and as a result, administrative files have been opened for 35 firms to proceed with sanctions.

“Of the audited companies, nine administrative files were opened for non-payment through the SPI (Interbank Payment System of the Central Bank of Ecuador), there are 26 complaints (19 written and 7 verbal) for not canceling the minimum support price of the cash. of banana set at $6.25 and also in the audit process, seven administrative files were initiated for possible falsity of shipment plans to banana exporters," the minister specified.

For his part, Eduardo Izaguirre, vice minister of Productive and Agricultural Development, assured that the audits will continue and invited small producers to report to the MAG offices.

“Companies that do not comply with the payment of the minimum support price will be sanctioned, the fact that we follow due process and that this takes time does not mean that there will not be consequences,” warned Izaguirre, who recommended that producers sign contracts. with exporters to formalize the chain.

The ministry reported that the audit processes can last around two months and begin with the producer's complaint (verbal or written), which must be up to 60 days after delivering the fruit, so that the complaint does not have to go to other legal bodies.

Cocoa and sugar cane

Meanwhile, Manzano also referred to the cocoa sector, pointing out that producers are not receiving the price of $92 or $93 per bag of the product, which is why he announced that this Saturday he will meet with the sector in search of eliminating intermediaries. .

“We are proposing an issue of collection centers so that they can put their product safely, better stored. This weekend we are going to delve deeper into this topic, because it is really important for us too,” said Manzano.

Another issue addressed by the minister was the situation of the minimum price of a ton of sugar cane, whose price rose from $31.70 to $35.05 at the end of last June through a ministerial agreement, but which was left without effect by the Multicompetent Judicial Unit of Yaguachi after a protection action filed by five sugar mills, on August 18.

The MAG filed an appeal against the court ruling and is currently awaiting the new procedure.

“I believe that an administrative act cannot have a legal protection action, that will fall in the following instances,” said Manzano.