At more than $3.2 billion, bananas ranked as the country’s second non-oil and mining export in 2022. Richard Salazar started with this sector in the nineties, when fruit was the protagonist of Ecuadorian exports. In the last 30 years, Salazar has been a businessman, union leader, worked in the public sector, and now he is promoting a new company with which he is negotiating with other Ecuadorian fruit growers around the world.

How and when did you start dealing with bananas?

I started very young, in 1993, I was 20 years old and I was a credit assistant manager at Banco del Agro SA (Finagro), and one of the bank’s main portfolios was the banana production and export sector, in boom banana plantations at the time, we financed banana plantations and working capital for banana exporters. I was there until 2002.

After nine years at Finagro, what was your next step?

With all this experience, I created the company Ademinsa del Ecuador SA, which offered non-destructive testing and predictive maintenance to the industrial and oil sectors. He worked until 2014.

Never had a plan B?

No, I was seduced by the village, at that time contact with people, sharing with workers, visiting banana, corn and rice plantations.

Have you also had an engagement in the public sector?

Yes, I was director of bananas in the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, from August 2009 to August 2011, where I met most of the banana exporters and producers. We generated important changes such as the latest reform of the Banana Law and the issuance of two decrees.

935 producers already have a certificate of good agricultural practice, more than 50% are banana growers

What happened to your company Ademinsa in 2014?

I sold the shares to my partner. In 2015, we started the project of creating the Association for the Marketing and Export of Bananas (Acorbanec), which was finally established in November 2016 under the Ministry of Foreign Trade.

Later, in November 2021, we started the project of creating a brokerage company for the placement of fruits and vegetables on different markets in the world. It’s called Ecuafood Supply and it’s a partnership with Jorge Mantilla, and we manage five people from Ecuador.

How many international markets does Ecuafood Supply serve?

We started operations in January 2022, marketing various products such as bananas, moringa, pitahaya and plantation to various markets in Europe, United States of America, Asia and others, which we are currently maintaining.

What were the company’s main challenges in international markets and with domestic clients?

The main challenge was to find products such as bananas, moringa, pitahaya and other products that receive international certifications such as organic, Rainforest Alliance, Fairtrade, GlobalGap, SEDEX and other FDA, adapting to the requirements of our clients abroad.

How did you manage to combine your business activity with the union aspect?

Legal representation and management of the company is done by my partner, I was in charge of the commercial part, but I am a shareholder. While I dedicate myself 100% to Acorbanec.

What did you have to sacrifice to cover both fronts?

Time. Go to bed late and get up early.

The banana sector has been complicated in recent months due to disagreements between exporters and producers. How do you view this problem and possible solutions from your business angle?

The Banana Law sought to do two things: set a minimum price for a box of bananas that must be paid to the producer, establishing myriad controls, bureaucratic requirements, and disproportionate sanctions to force payment; as well as the ban on new planting.

The problem is that the ban on planting in Ecuador has caused international competition to plant more bananas and pushed us out of important markets, especially the European Union and the United States.

But was the price of the box always up for debate?

It is incredible that a price is set for an export product that depends on the world market.

And finally, 55% of Ecuadorian exports go to markets stains, like Africa, Central and East Asia, part of Russia, etc. whose scheme does not exist in the Banana Law.

Despite the deadlines for signing the contract, the sale of bananas at the spot price was imposed in 2023

In thirty years of business, production, how did you manage to stay in business, how to overcome external problems such as prices, containers, war and internal conflicts such as politics and instability?

One of the characteristics, above all, of a banana businessman is that tenacity that does not fall in the face of vicissitudes and looks for alternatives, for example, they pushed us out of Europe and we started looking for markets in Russia, the Middle East and others; researching, visiting, investing. The sector’s resilience and concern for business development, looking for alternatives, going out and looking for markets, at fairs, trade missions, were an important factor.

The problem is between the public and private sectors. Access to destinations has been improved by the signing of trade agreements and we have worked on this with the authorities and reached plans with China, South Korea and others.

Regarding the price issue, the private sector, especially bananas, invested in companies vestibule make commercial offensives that help improve the payment of a decent price that maintains the sustainability of Ecuadorian production. And as for containers, remember that fruits and vegetables are food and the population will always stop doing anything but eating, that’s why the banana sector has stepped up to meet the global crisis.

What are the future plans of Ecuafood Supply and its union aspect at the head of Acorbanec?

In relation to Ecuafood Supply, it continues to attract new clients in different markets, even increasing the product portfolio of the Ecuadorian export offer.

As for Acorbanec, it currently represents 42% of Ecuador’s total banana exports, with 59 affiliated members. Our goal is to capture 50% of banana exports by 2024, continue working on export promotion, regulatory changes such as the Banana Law, adapt it to business realities and continue working on productive efficiency and associative development.