Facing the problem of organized crime with “determination and firmness”, working on internal competitiveness in the country to boost production and exports, as well as promoting the development of the agricultural sector, are some of the demands of the aquaculture sector for President-elect Daniel Noboa.

According to the National Chamber of Aquaculture (CNA), which supports 290,000 jobs, insecurity represents an economic burden of nearly $100 million annually, in addition to the casualties it leaves behind.

In 2023, shrimp dethroned oil for the first time as the first export product with 314 million dollars

“The new government assumes the enormous responsibility of restoring and guaranteeing the security that was lost under the current administration,” says the Executive President of the National Chamber of Aquaculture, José Antonio Camposano.

As a result of criminal acts, the businessman stated, 51 people have been injured and two have died. “The sector insists on the need for private security companies to have access to higher caliber weapons to counter attacks by criminal groups,” the union said in a statement released this Monday, October 16.

They also call for public security forces to be equipped with modern weapons and to consider the militarization of road corridors with high crime rates.

The sector also appealed to the new Government to work on the internal competitiveness of the country in order to encourage production and exports, which implies, as indicated:

The drop in prices hit the shrimp sector, which had a -5% turnover until August, although it produces and exports more

Another point to consider, according to CNA, is the promotion of the development of the agricultural sector, for which they mention the need for financing mechanisms for the manufacturing sector that will be affected by the El Niño phenomenon.

“The agricultural sector must play a fundamental role and must not be suppressed without a policy of promotion. It must become the driving force behind the development of rural areas, so that our young people are not forced to emigrate,” says Camposano.