On March 24, in Asunción (Paraguay), Ecuador could seal its qualification for the Qatar Soccer World Cup, which will be played at the end of this year. The virtual classification of the national team not only generates expectations in the sports world, but also in the export sector, which, hand in hand with this sports achievement, identifies opportunities to increase the Ecuadorian exportable offer in Qatar and that this State can become a point of distribution for the Arab region.
Xavier Rosero, Executive Vice President of the Ecuadorian Federation of Exporters (Fedexpor)confirmed that Qatar, due to its strategic geographical location, can become a distribution platform and a showcase for products from the traditional supply such as bananas and shrimp to deepen their entry into the countries of the Middle East, but also for products from the high nutritional content and high quality of the non-traditional offer can position themselves.
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This is because in Qatar and neighboring countries there is a high willingness to pay for the highest levels of quality, since price is not the determining variable for the decision of this type of consumer, but rather the quality guarantees of the products in question. which Ecuador has already been working on and positioning its brand at an international level, according to Rosero.
Data from Ministry of Production, Foreign Trade, Investments and Fisheries indicate that despite the fact that Qatar has a little more than 2.5 million inhabitants, the same population as Guayaquil, its gross domestic product (GDP) is twice that of Ecuador, which results in a population with real purchasing power of about $130,000 a year per inhabitant.
Added to this is that in 2019 there was already a rapprochement when government authorities met with Saud Hassan al Thawadi, secretary general of the Supreme Committee, and the Legacy (SC) and showed interest in the country meeting the excess demand for market products. Qatari during the 2022 World Cup.
For this event, Qatar not only foresees an infrastructure that includes 8 stadiums (2 ready and 6 under construction), it is also expected that attendance at the World Cup will double the Qatari population during the last months of 2022 on the dates surrounding the championship.
Meanwhile, non-oil trade between Qatar and Ecuador left a favorable balance of $12 million for Ecuador in 2021, as exports outweighed imports, according to Fedexpor figures.
shipments reached $15 million last year, which nevertheless meant a decrease of 23% in relation to 2020 (record export year) when $20 million was sent.
The banana export sector closed 2021 with the shipment of 376 million boxes, 2.5% less than 2020
The main export products to Qatar are flowers, bananas and plantains, plants, white goods and fruits; 99.9% of non-oil exports are concentrated among the five main products; although the flowers (56%) and the banana (43%) cover 99%.
Meanwhile, the main import products that became relevant as of 2021 are soaps and washing preparations and plastic products, which represent 88% of imports in 2021.
According to figures from the Ministry of Production, Foreign Trade, Investments and Fisheries, from January to December 2021, non-oil imports from Qatar reached $33 million; which means that they grew by 2,671.4% compared to the same period in 2020 ($3.2 million).
The average of non-oil imports from 2016 to 2021 is $1.3 million. During this period, imports of hygiene preparations, polymers and other chemicals represented 96.9% of total non-oil imports from Qatar, explained the State portfolio.
Marianella Ubilla, president of the Association of Banana Exporters of Ecuador (AEBE), He assured that the Arabian Gulf region is of great commercial importance for Ecuadorian bananas.
“We believe that with the World Cup and the participation of Ecuador we can have a greater presence in the region,” said the businesswoman.
And it is that Ecuadorian fruit exports to Qatar have shown sustained growth in volume and value exported. In 2019, 10,217 metric tons (563,236 boxes) were exported for $4.7 million.
In 2020, shipments grew to 681,000 boxes (12,360 tons) for $5.8 million; and by 2021, fruit exports once again showed significant growth, generating $6.5 million for the 13,685 tons that were sent to the Arab State (754,416 boxes).
However, Ubilla also detected challenges in the area. The main one, the competition from Philippine bananas, although the businesswoman highlighted that the Ecuadorian product has a better flavor, quality and shelf life.
However, bananas from the Philippines are more cost competitive.
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“Our banana has the disadvantage compared to the Philippine one that some services from Ecuador go through the Suez Canal and you have to cover an additional cost that the Philippines does not have,” said Ubilla, who identifies other actions that will complement what it generates commercially. the presence of Ecuador in the Qatar 2022 World Cup.
A greater promotion of bananas in that area from a market study to investigate distribution channels and times to carry out this promotion, and negotiate a broader agreement, especially in investments for agriculture.
Opportunities are also projected from the port business.
Sergio Murillo, president of the Association of Private Port Terminals of Ecuador (Asotep), believes that the World Cup in Qatar will mean a month of increased demand for products, not only from Ecuador, but from all over the world, and assured that private ports are prepared to absorb the additional movement.
This preparation includes permanent investment and growth, although Murillo clarified: “We are in permanent investment and growth in view not of a monthly event, but of effectively great changes in trade such as the signing of free trade agreements (as happened years ago with the Union European), now waiting for the United States, etc.
Regarding the growth of the exchange with Qatar, Murillo asserted that there is still no estimate of the volume of growth, since he indicated that although Ecuador is an important supplier for Qatar, this destination is not among those with the highest volume of trade such as the US. USA, China, the European Union and Russia.
Ecuador, the first supplier of Qatar in the region
Xavier Rosero, executive vice president of the Ecuadorian Federation of Exporters (Fedexpor), highlighted that with the $15 million that Ecuador exported to Qatar in 2021, it is the largest exporter of agricultural-agroindustrial goods to that Arab country from the group of countries that make up the Pacific Alliance (in the event that Ecuador achieves trade integration).
Chile exports around $10 million annually to Qatar and more than 70% of its exports are made up of food products.
In the case of Peru ($3.8 million exports to Qatar) and Colombia ($4 million exports to Qatar), 89% and 78%, respectively, of their exports are made up of food. (I)
Source: Eluniverso
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