Turkey may have new opportunities for Ecuador's bananas. Diego Aulestia, Minister of Foreign Trade, was able to confirm the demand for this fruit in his recent visit to the Mediterranean port of Mersin, gateway to countries in Asia, North Africa and the Arabian Peninsula.
Minister Aulestia told the banana sector about the potential of the fruit in the Middle East market due to the resumption of the negotiation of a trade agreement between Ecuador and Turkey. The minister met with Manuel Romero, representative of AGROBAN (Regional Ecuadorian Banana Corporation), after a visit to the Hacienda Mateo of the Orodelti Group SA, located at kilometer 26 via Milagro.
The minister toured the Hacienda with Victor Jurado, director of Pro Ecuador. Together they visited banana plantations and were shown how the fruit was processed for export. Kleber Siguenza, general manager of the farm, said that "the Ecuadorian banana has a very important competitive advantage: it has a longer life on the hanger. Each cluster yields approximately 2 boxes; hence our high productivity."
Minister Aulestia highlighted the work of public institutions to optimize export times. Meanwhile Xavier Cardenas, a representative of the Agrosoft Company, showed how Banaxass 8.0, a national software that is exported to several countries in Latin America and that allows optimizing the performance of banana production works.
The tour concluded with a visit to a plastic recycling plant of the same group, which produces bags, protective sheets for bananas, and other products used in the production and export of bananas.
Later, in Guayaquil, Minister Aulestia met with other banana companies to gain a better understanding of the sector's situation and to analyze the prospects and opportunities of the fruit in international markets.
