10% less of registered plantations of Bananas in Ecuador for 2013.

The Ecuadorian government plans to implement measures that will cut back the country’s banana-growing surface area by 15,000-20,000ha in 2013, newspaper El Telegrafo reported.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Aquaculture and Fishing (MAGAP) said the decision was already made, with the goal of controling the fruit’s supply and its quality.
The story reported Ecuador has around 230,000ha of the fruit planted, but only 170,000ha are registered.
MAGAP zone 5 coordinator Carlos Vélez told the newspaper the actions against growers who have exceeded limits will be as the law demands.
“The banana sector cannot support more hectares of fruit, so the measure is to control illegal plantations or increases in cultivated hectares,” he was quoted as saying.
www.freshfruitportal.com

History of official price for Ecuadorian Bananas. Last 10 years.

New price for 2013 is $ 6,00.

Conclusion: 

2002 vs 2013 = +104,78% in 10 years.

2002 to 2007 = +19,45%

2007 to 2013 = +71,43%

Image: www.expreso.ec

Ecuador: Nuevo precio oficial de la caja de banano.

Después de varios días de análisis, al no haber consenso entre productores y exportadores, el Gobierno anunció ayer su decisión de aumentar en un 9,09% el precio de sustentación de la caja de banano de 41,5 libras, al pasarla de $ 5,50 a $ 6.

La decisión, que divulgó desde la Base Aérea de Quito el ministro de Agricultura, Javier Ponce, no dejó totalmente satisfechos ni a productores ni a exportadores de la fruta.

Por un lado, los productores esperaban que el aumento esté entre $ 6,30 y $ 6,80 para compensar los altos costos de producción que genera la mano de obra y los insumos.

Al conocerse la decisión, Paúl González, presidente del Centro Agrícola de Machala, señaló que esperaban que el precio se mueva bajo ese margen, sin embargo, acotó que analizarían la resolución ministerial junto a otros gremios. En la decisión también se consideró un aumento para la caja de 43 libras que ahora costará $ 6,22. 

Horas antes, varias asociaciones expusieron en Guayaquil sus motivos para exigir un alza. William Ramón, representante de los productores del Guayas, indicó que la mano de obra se ha encarecido en los últimos tres años y eso tiene un efecto en la producción.

Según datos de los gremios bananeros, la mano de obra representa cerca del 54% de los costos de producción, los insumos un 24%, mientras que materiales, impuestos y otros rubros, la diferencia.

Los agricultores pedían un nuevo precio a base de un precio ponderado de $ 5,54 por caja más un margen de utilidad del 23%.

Ponce explicó que en el nuevo precio de $ 6, que regirá a partir de su publicación en el Registro Oficial, estipuló un costo de producción por hectárea de $ 4,88, lo que significa un 23% de ganancia ($ 1,12).

Jorge Toapanta, secretario de la Asociación de Productores Bananeros Orenses, aseveró que el valor de $ 6 “no cumple las expectativas”, porque los costos de producción se han elevado más que todo por los impuestos determinados por el Gobierno. “En cuatro años el precio estaba represado, mientras crecieron los costos”. 

Ahora, al menos, esperan que el régimen haga respetar el precio oficial fijado. 

De su parte, Eduardo Ledesma, presidente de la Asociación de Exportadores de Banano de Ecuador, aseguró que pedirán una revisión del precio, pues el aumento hace que el país sea menos competitivo en relación con Colombia y Costa Rica.

Ledesma cree que no se ha considerado la problemática de la crisis europea, ni los conflictos en Medio Oriente. Estos factores hacen que los importadores tengan menos poder adquisitivo. Agregó que la decisión fue motivada por razones políticas, por la cercanía de las elecciones.

División de posturas
Grupo: Varios productores lamentaron que una asociación de El Oro haya indicado que para fijar el precio, el Gobierno debía considerar que mientras más suba, la fruta es menos competitiva.

Source: eluniverso.com

Bad for Philippines. Opportunities for Latin America Bananas.

Philippines: Banana recovery will take time 

Already new shoots are beginning to pierce the ground from banana trees felled by typhoon Bopha. It will take anything from between six and nine months for the trees to become productive again. However, for the industry to bounce back after the storm could take much longer than this.

“Banana plantations, like those in Compostella Valley, Davao Oriental and Davao del Norte need farm inputs like fertilisers and insecticides and I think farmers would be very much in need of that at this time considering the devastation caused by Bopha on their farms,” Ivette Matabalan, who works as a researcher for the Pilipino Banana Growers and Exporters Association (PBGEA) said.

Many of the planters affected are independent farmers and are not members of PBGEA, she said, thus, all the more in need of support from government.

Source: gulfnews.comPublication date: 12/12/2012
Image: hurriyetdailynews.com

Run Ecuador, Run!..

European parliament votes in Colombia/Peru trade deal

Two landmark pacts freeing up EU trade with Colombia, Peru and six countries in Central America can now take effect, after Parliament approved them on Tuesday. Before giving their consent, MEPs also approved rules to shield EU manufacturers and banana growers against adverse effects of import surges.

The pacts with Peru, Colombia and six Central American countries – Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama – will free up markets on both sides by cutting import tariffs, removing technical barriers to trade, liberalising services markets and opening up public procurement.

Before giving Parliament's go-ahead to the trade agreement with Colombia and Peru, MEPs asked both countries to set out binding roadmaps for implementing labour and environmental clauses.

Both roadmaps were presented to the International Trade Committee in November and welcomed by most members. However a minority remained sceptical about the agreement's beneficial effects on human rights and social conditions and urged Parliament to vote against the deal. In the end, it was, nonetheless, approved by 486 votes to 147, with 41 abstentions.

In Colombia and Peru, the biggest beneficiaries of removing tariffs will be producers of fruit (especially bananas and grapes) and shrimp. Once in force, the deal is likely to boost Peru's GDP by 0.7 % and Columbia's by 1.3 %. EU exporters should save €270 million in duties annually, according to Commission estimates.

Central America's key traditional exports to the EU include bananas and pineapples.In the long run, the deal could boost national income in the six countries by amounts ranging from 0.5% in Nicaragua to 3.5% in Costa Rica.EU exporters could save up to €87 million annually in customs duties(Commission estimates).

Besides liberalising trade, the pact also has development cooperation and political dialogue clauses designed to help promote sustainable development, reduce poverty and consolidate stability by integrating the Central American region as a whole.

MEPs backed the deal by 557 votes in favour, 100 against and 21 abstentions.

Safeguards for EU banana growersCosta Rica and Colombia are among the world's leading banana exporters, and a surge in their exports to the EU could crowd out those of the EU's own “outermost” regions, such as the Canary Islands, Guadeloupe and Martinique, which together grow about 12% of the bananas sold in the EU. To avoid harming their fragile economies, MEPs voted into law two regulations which provide a general safety net for EU industries and special “stabilization mechanisms” for bananas.

Both pacts were signed by the EU and its partners in June 2012. As is the case for all international agreements after Lisbon, they need Parliament's consent to be ratified in the EU. The will apply provisionally following a formal decision in the Council, but to be concluded formally, they must be also ratified by all EUmember states.

Source: europarl.europa.eu
Publication date: 12/12/2012
Image: confirmado.net

What will be the new official price? less than 2 months from elections?

Banana growers in Ecuador are anxiously waiting for government officials to determine the new box prices. Growers and exporters are at odds on what these should be. Exporters demand the 2010 pricing to be upheld. Due to the disagreement, the ministry of agriculture (MAGAP) intervened and will now set the price levels itself.

MAGAP was supposed to make an announcement last week, but the declaration was postponed. Producers demand 6.81 USD per box, a number exporters claim this is too high. Eduardo Ledesma, frontman of the union for exporters (the Asociación de Exportadores Bananeros del Ecuador, or AEBE) thinks this price will negatively affect the sector. Although he believes a consensus will be reached, he fears politicians will let the coming elections influence their judgement.

CEO of Agroban Manuel Romero, on the other hand, says the new pricing is essential to the well-being of Ecuador’s banana growers. Romero expects the new price levels will be implemented this month.

Source: Freshplaza.com
Source: Diariopinion.com
Publication date: 12/12/2012
Image: viventura.com

Typhoon Affects Philippine Banana Export

MANILA  (AFP) – The Philippines, the world's third largest exporter of bananas, lost a quarter of its crop in typhoon “Pablo” (Bopha), an industry group said Thursday, adding that it has also likely spread a destructive pest.
The Philippine Banana Growers and Exporters Association said the deadly storm, which has so far killed 475 people, would also cost the industry $318 million.
Executive director Stephen Antig said Bopha destroyed 10,000 hectares (24,700 acres) of the country's 42,000 hectares of banana farms.
The winds and flash floods flattened wide swathes of the hillsides of Davao Oriental and Compostela Valley provinces, the center of the industry, he added.
And apart from the visible damage, Antig said there were fears that the floods might have spread Panama Disease, which prevents the plant from bearing any fruit before eventually killing it.
The bug then renders the affected areas unsuitable for replanting.
About 150,000 people depend on the banana industry in Compostela Valley alone.
The Philippines likely lost eight billion pesos ($196 million) in ruined harvests and damaged facilities in the storm, Antig said, while rehabilitating farms would take several months and likely cost another P5 billion.
It would then take nine months after the replanting to reap the next harvest.
The state census office said the Philippines shipped $471 million worth of the fruit last year – accounting for one percent of total exports.
Bopha is the latest blow to the Philippines' banana industry, which was embroiled in a row this year with major market China over alleged pests on shipments that left tonnes of the fruit to rot at Chinese ports.
The two governments later held talks to resolve the issue.
Antig said the industry was also hit by the international foreign exchange embargo on Iran, and an attack of Panama Disease on some plantations.
source: http://www.mb.com.ph