The FAS (free on board) modality used by banana exporters to sell their fruit to other exporters locally, which producers and authorities from the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MAG) say has been abused, allowing thousands of boxes of fruit to leave without going through the system banana control (SCB), continues to generate chain reactions.

Cluster defends the FAS modality and points to an outdated banana control system, and Senae promises a final solution, in the short term, to the F code

This time, the cluster of bananas and plantains from Ecuador, which represents 60% of production and close to 100% of fruit exports, defended this modality and assured that this negotiation mechanism should not be discredited, but updated SCB consolidates data with the National Customs Service of Ecuador (Senae) and The Tax Service (SRI), a request that was repeated to the authorities according to the trade union.

In addition, Klaster stressed that the modality is legal and recognized in Article 17 of the Rulebook of the Law on the Encouragement and Control of the Production and Commercialization of Bananas, Plantains (barraganeta) and other related Musáceas intended for export.

How was the code used, allegedly, to export boxes of bananas without going through the banana control system? Musáceas’ undersecretary and minister Eduardo Izaguirre explains this

The union confirmed that the regulations, which do not even specify specific percentages given the variability of international negotiations, stipulate that an exporter can buy fruit from another exporter in the country.

At this point, he cited the aforementioned Article 17, stating that an exporter who buys fruit must pay another exporter “at least the minimum support price and/or FOB term (free on board), as long as the fruit is considered the other exporter’s own (but not contracted) ; and/or that it comes from producers who have signed sales contracts with another exporter, for which the ministry, before shipping, approved the said transaction”.

Finally, the Cluster calls for the deepening of internal controls over those who have the ability to change, modify and dispose of the control system, investigate and impose sanctions by the competent authorities. In this sense, last week the Minister of Agriculture and Livestock, Eduardo Izaguirre, clarified that the manipulation and alleged abuse of this modality was applied by entering the letter F before the code issued by the MAG to the banana farm. and that this system was in charge of Senae.

In a new protest in Guayaquil, banana producers demanded the abolition of the ‘F code’

EL UNIVERSO newspaper consulted Senaa’s general manager, Ralph Suástegui, about this code and the actions being taken. The official, who took office on May 20, mentioned: “In this process, we are still meeting with different actors from different sectors to solve different problems… in this particular case it is an issue (that of bananas) that is still is working and developing to find a solution, but we can assure, yes, that we will have a final solution for this and other problems in a short period of time”.

In addition, the director was consulted as to whether the responsibilities regarding the management and manipulation of that system had been determined. Suástegui indicated that it is an issue that is being analyzed without giving further details.