Exporting companies with ‘heart’ and ‘vision’ shine in foreign trade

From January to September 2021, non-oil exports reached $ 11,437 million, which represented 60% of total exports, according to the Ecuadorian Federation of Exporters (Fedexpor).

Felipe Ribadeneira, Chairman of the Guild’s Board of Directors, highlights a growth rate of 10%, with which it will “easily” surpass last year’s export record of more than $ 15,000 million.

However, they are macro figures, cold numbers, which, although they reflect the result of the efforts of these companies, do not show their stories, that on the night of November 25 they had their space and recognition at the eXport award gala, organized by Fedexpor.

One of these stories was that of Nelly Moreno Peralta, the winner of the Revelation Exporter category 2021 with his company Program

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He started exporting five years ago, but his business was born twelve years ago, said his daughter Carla Novoa, who highlighted that they are dedicated to the rescue of ancestral Andean grains through their Amati brand and their five products: amaranth drinks, seeds, pops, flours and fake risottos de mote con morocho.

Novoa recalled that their first international market was Chile and currently they export to Spain, from where the drinks reach France and Italy.

“For us, as a company, it represents a new commitment and a new responsibility both with our clients and with the entities and indigenous communities that trust in our company and that share our dream,” explained Novoa about the award received, which is not the first.

In 2018, they won the Expor (Fedexpor) honorable mention as a project Internacionalízate Mipyme. They also received recognition from the National Assembly as pioneers in the development of healthy and sustainable products from Ecuador.

But this story also has its sentimental overtones.

Novoa indicated that winning as a revelation exporter is a mixture of emotions, between joy and gratitude, although he assured that his mission and that of his mother is aimed at honoring the life of his brother. “Day by day we are working for it,” said the businesswoman moved, remembering the loss of her brother Pedro José four years ago.

“He loved Amati, that’s why all our packaging includes a heart with his initials (PJ8) of Pedro José and 8, which was the number of the shirt with which he played soccer,” said Novoa.

These stories are not exclusive to small entrepreneurs. Today’s large companies were also born as a desire, a vision.

Reybanpac and Pesquera Santa Priscila, winners of the eXport award as large traditional exporting companies

In the case of Pacific Banana King (Reybanpac), winner in the category Large Exporting Company of Traditional Goods, the person in charge of having that vision was Second Wong Mayorga, remembered Margarita Wong, Operations Manager of the company, who told Diario EL UNIVERSO the beginnings of the firm founded by his grandfather in September 1977.

He had the vision that led him to be the first to export Ecuadorian bananas to the markets of Russia and China.

Today, Reybanpac exports more than 27 million boxes of bananas a year and serves 26 destinations on five continents. Their main markets are Russia, the European Union, Asia and the Middle East, and they are working to increase their presence in the North American market, expand commercial relations with supermarkets in Europe and Russia, and consolidate themselves in Asia and the Middle East.

Wong assured that the company’s ability and the commitment of the entire work team to remain strong and resilient during the pandemic influenced the export results and at the same time the achievement of the award.

“For us, it is very valuable that other organizations recognize the effort made by the company for the development of a sustainable agribusiness, which in turn has a positive impact on the economic growth of the country, its employees and the well-being of the community. ”Said the third generation of the Wong in Reybanpac, a company for which, in its 44-year history, recognition is not elusive.

Wong cited, for example, the IESS Recognition for Good Business Practices 2019 that the company won that year within the category “Greater number of affiliates nationwide, during the period 2018-2019”, and was the only company in the agricultural sector to be recognized in this category.

In 2018, the Guayaquil Chamber of Industries presented its flagship award for “Best Industrialists of the Year” to Vicente and Rafael Wong. And in 2005, the company obtained the first place of the Ekos Oro in the banana sector.

However, for Wong, beyond the awards, what Reybanpac seeks is the satisfaction of its customers and consumers around the world.

“And that they find in Reybanpac a company that not only supplies them with high-quality bananas and nutritional value, but also shares their values ​​of social and environmental responsibility. That is what motivates the entire Reybanpac team towards excellence and development on a daily basis ”, he assured. (I)