A 34% drop in oil exports means Ecuador’s total sales in the first quarter of 2023 fell to $7,462 million, 8% compared to the first three months of last year.
Between January and March 2022, oil sales amounted to $2,857 million, and in March 2023 they reached only $1,900 million, according to the latest official foreign trade data.
Fuel imports have already almost equaled crude oil exports
However, non-oil products rose 6% with sales of $5,562 million in this first quarter, and non-mining export supplies also rose 5% to $4,757 million.
Shrimp and bananas saw the biggest increase among the main non-oil and mining exports: 7% growth in shrimp to $1.872 million and 12% in bananas and plantains to $1.055 million. But in this group, tuna and fish is the item with the worst decline with 33% less exports (representing $85 million in sales), according to the monthly report of the Ecuadorian Federation of Exporters (Fedexpor).
Both shrimp and bananas have increased in sales in Russia this year, as have the main products arriving on that market: coffee, fish products and crustaceans, and cocoa beans. Thus, Russia is again the fourth destination for Ecuadorian exports with 274 million dollars sent there in the first quarter of 2023, although these sales are 5% lower compared to the first quarter of 2022, due to the effect of the war between Russia and Ukraine that began on February 24 and was reflected after that date.
One year of the Russian-Ukrainian war: through ‘spot’ sales, bananas managed to stay in Russia, but flowers, shrimp and canned goods fell by up to 78%
In 2022, Colombia finished fourth among major markets, as $961 million was sent compared to $928 million exported to Russia for the entire year. However, this 2023 he was already recovering his cap space with $97 million in January, $89 million in February and $88 million in March.
Now, Russia has regained its 6% share of Ecuador’s exports of its export offering, and this puts it back in fourth place, behind China, the United States and the European Union.
Main markets for Ecuador:
Source: Eluniverso
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