The Banana and Plantain Cluster of Ecuador and the Corporation of Exporters Guilds of Ecuador (Cordex) expressed their concerns and suggestions.
At the facilities of the National Chamber of Aquaculture in Guayaquil, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Human Mobility, Juan Carlos Holguín, held meetings with the Banana and Banana Cluster of Ecuador, an organization that brings together the main banana and plantain producing and exporting associations of the country, and with the Corporation of Exporters Guilds of Ecuador (Cordex), in which they expressed their concerns and suggestions to strengthen international trade relations.
The meeting with the former aimed to promote a joint strategy that strengthens the presence and competitiveness of the banana industry in international markets.
Holguín promised to continue supporting the business sector in order to define a strategy that promotes the presence of the Ecuadorian product in the world.
“What does it mean to carry out commercial diplomacy? It means generating more opportunities for employment, investment and economic reactivation for the benefit of Ecuadorians. This will not be possible if we do not work hand in hand with the productive sector”, he pointed out.
For his part, Juan José Pons, coordinator of the Clúster Bananero y Platanero, thanked the opening to dialogue by the national government and the support provided to advance in the process of seeking solutions to the situation that the sector is going through.
“It is important to work hand in hand on the competitiveness of the sector and strengthen trade relations in the markets where we have lost presence due to the lack of trade agreements,” Pons stressed.
The meeting discussed issues such as the cooperative agenda focused on international trade policies and conditions, such as the regulations of the European Union and other organizations, as well as actions of the international private sector with local repercussions.
Also the creation of a joint and proactive agenda to prevent practices contrary to the image of national industries that adopt measures in favor of economic and social development, the promotion of commercial agreements and/or free trade agreements, especially with the economies of greater growth, that guarantee favorable conditions with China, South Korea and Japan and other points.
In the case of Cordex, the meeting took place at a key moment since the Foreign Minister and President Guillermo Lasso continue to develop the diplomatic route and one of their priorities is to travel to China with the aim of starting a dialogue process to reach a memorandum of understanding understanding in relation to the debt that Ecuador has with the Asian giant and take advantage of the visit to continue promoting a trade agreement with China, an issue that Cordex has led since its creation.
Cordex told the foreign minister at the meeting to review the tariff impediments that are occurring in various markets and that affect the export of Ecuadorian products, they also highlighted the need to undertake campaigns to promote Ecuadorian products that highlight the sustainability of the Ecuadorian agro-export supply and the signing of trade agreements, especially with the fastest growing economies in Asia, to guarantee favorable access conditions in the markets of China, South Korea and Japan.
“It is essential that the chancellor Get to know first-hand what we consider to be priorities on the international diplomatic agenda to boost exports of the country’s main non-oil export products, that have become a fundamental pillar for the Ecuadorian economy due to the generation of foreign exchange and especially for the generation of employment”, said José Antonio Camposano, president of Cordex and executive president of the National Chamber of Aquaculture.
José Antonio Hidalgo, director of the Association of Banana Exporters of Ecuador, said, for his part, that “the promotion and maintenance of a qualified technical and purposeful international representation, especially in those jurisdictions with a direct relationship with the industry such as the European Union , the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the Russian Federation, the People’s Republic of China, among others, is indispensable for the country”.
On behalf of the cocoa export sector, Francisco Miranda, president of the National Association of Cocoa Exporters of Ecuador (Anecacao), said that “they trust the foreign minister’s mission to promote and strengthen Ecuador’s international and commercial relations with other countries in this post-pandemic environment that is going through today.”
Miranda also indicated that, from his sector, they expect good phytosanitary diplomacy from their international counterparts and in turn with the Ecuadorian export sector, to avoid not having timely information on new regulations that affect exports.
He reiterated that It is extremely important to generate trade agreements with Asian countries, which have had high growth in recent years, which They will allow to strengthen the volume of exports and existence and in turn are more competitive than exporting countries worldwide, which are Ghana and Ivory Coast. (I)
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