Companies that evade the payment of the minimum support price for bananas will lose their license to export

The Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MAG), through the Undersecretariat of Strengthening of Musáceas, will initiate a process of review of the payments that are made through the Interbank Payment System (SPI), to confirm that the exporting companies are paying the minimum support price (PMS) to banana producers.

Bananas are the second non-oil export product in the country, with $ 2.345 million from January to August of this year; which, however, represented 10% less than the same period in 2020.

The current PMS for the banana box for this year is $ 6.25, which will remain in effect for 2022, as ordered by the MAG at the end of last October.

Ministry of Agriculture sets price of banana box at $ 6.25

This decision to maintain the PMS for next year generated a complaint from the producing sector, which wanted the box of bananas to be at least $ 7.19 by 2022. While the export sector, whose proposal was to maintain the current price, agrees with the authority’s decision, taken after a meeting of the Banana Advisory Council.

Meanwhile, the provision to review payments occurs once the Minister of Agriculture and Livestock, Pedro Alava, instructed the Undersecretariat of Strengthening of Musáceas “to be relentless” with exporting companies that disrespect the payment of the PMS of the fruit box, according to the MAG in a statement.

The statement warns that companies that disrespect the PMS payment will lose their export license. (I)