International markets begin to review the price of a box of bananas based on global cost increases

Three US market companies announced that they will pay more for the fruit, after a request made by producers and exporters of the region.

The Regional Agreement for the shared responsibility signed in Guayaquil on October 27, the producers and exporters of Banana de Ecuador, Colombia, Guatemala, Honduras, Panama, Dominican Republic and Costa Rica already gives results.

Through this agreement the countries asked European, British and American supermarkets to review the prices of the banana box in accordance with the international reality of increased global costs and the demands to achieve sustainability.

This Friday, the banana cluster of Ecuador highlighted initiatives of three companies in the North American market that have hosted the order made by producers and exporters.

For example, Fresh del Monte announced the increase in its prices by $ 0.05 per fruit pound, Dole increased by $ 1.61 per box and Fyffes did so at $ 1.60 per box for conventional bananas.

The United States is the fourth destination of Ecuadorian fruit worldwide. From January to last September, 28.6 million boxes were exported to that destination, which represented 10.17 % of the total exports of the fruit, which in that period reached 281.95 million boxes.

"We expect similar reactions by the other markets to compensate for the global situation according to the implications of the different particularities that correspond to each of these markets; only in this way it will be possible to maintain the true social and environmental objective that is sought with the production of bananas," said the banana cluster, which assured that in the banana industry costs have been raised in costs between 30 % and 45 %. For example, in fertilizers from 35 % to 45 %, cardboard in 30 % and plastic in 45 %.

In addition, he urged consumers, supermarkets, importers and all who make up the chain to act consequently aware of the impact caused by the different externalities and whose costs cannot be assumed only by the producers, but must be shared by all the members of the chain, since, in case of not producing the increase in prices necessary, the sustainability of the bananas will be threatened.