It is currently the non-oil export product of Ecuador that generates the most external sales: $6,273.8 million from January to October 2022, followed by bananas with sales of $2,704.9 million in the same period, according to figures from the Central Bank. of Ecuador, published in December 2022.
It is about farmed shrimp, whose production, exported volume and exported value have marked historical figures in recent years for the country and the aquaculture industry.
Since 2018, annual export sales of shrimp exceeded $3,198 million; in 2021, the $5,078 million; and before the end of 2022, more than $6,000 million, indicate data from the National Chamber of Aquaculture (CNA).
For José Antonio Camposano, president of the Cordex board of directors and executive president of the CNA, shrimp exports from Ecuador in 2022 would close in an amount close to $6.8 billion and its equivalent in pounds (more than 2,141′,316,957 pounds that they had exported from January to November 2022).
Banana and shrimp producers turn the page on a possible failed agreement with Mexico and recommend focusing on closing with China and South Korea
This industry is also one of the largest generators of employment: 130,000 direct and 140,000 indirect. Only in 2022, the amount of investment contracts in the shrimp industry was around $700 million and a generation of 5,497 new jobs directly linked to these contracts, but the number of new jobs is higher, indicated in the CNAs.
China, the US and Spain lead the 44 destinations with growth for shrimp
In 2022, Ecuadorian shrimp had 44 destinations with growth, while in another 18 there was a reduction, according to the sectoral data analyzed in December by the Ecuadorian Federation of Exporters (Fedexpor), and with a cutoff from January to October 2022.
China, with 492,139 tons of shrimp purchased from January to October 2022 (representing $3.39 billion in sales); United States, with 163,118 tons ($1,270 million); Spain, with 52,503 tons ($319 million); France, with 31,992 tons ($223 million), and Italy, with 26,737 tons ($191 million), were the main destinations for Ecuadorian farmed shrimp in 2022.
The average price per kilo of export shrimp was $7.02 (2.2 pounds), between January and October 2022. In this period, the average price increased by 14% compared to the same period in 2021, according to data from Fedexpor.
The exported volume of shrimp grew by 32% between January and October 2022 compared to the same period in 2021, reaching 894,000 tons in 10 months of 2022.
Challenges for 2023
Continue working on the competitiveness of the value chain and face an economic outlook that is not encouraging, “because all the indicators project an economic recession that will affect (their) destination markets”, are two of the main challenges from the shrimp sector, which is asking the government for urgent measures to alleviate the tax burden on production, says José Antonio Camposano, president of the Cordex board of directors and executive president of the CNA.
One of the challenges of 2022 —he adds— were the “considerable increases” in the main production costs, since there are almost 100 tariff subheadings that pay tariffs, which makes them less competitive, says the union representative.
Our primary chain still pays VAT (Value Added Tax) on capital goods, inputs and raw materials when the law is clear that these goods must have a zero VAT rate to avoid exporting taxes.
José Antonio Camposano, Executive President of the National Chamber of Aquaculture
The drawback automatic, a mechanism used in other neighboring nations to motivate exports, is not applied in Ecuador, adds the representative of Cordex.
“We have very big challenges in the face of the economic outlook for 2023, since we already had a very tough 2022 and it seems that, just like this year that has just ended, we are alone in this effort,” Camposano considers.
Ecuador-Mexico Agreement: it is likely that the issue will remain on ‘stand by’ and later one of the governments will take it up again
For its part, in 2022, the Ministry of Production, Foreign Trade, Investment and Fisheries negotiated new trade agreements with various nations, such as Mexico, China, South Korea and others.
In the case of the first, Ecuadorian Minister Julio José Prado ratified, in December 2022, that without the entry of shrimp and bananas, Ecuador would not sign a free trade agreement (FTA) with Mexico. This after previous statements by the president of the Aztec country that both Ecuadorian products will not enter the treaty.
And before the end of 2022, Ecuadorian Foreign Minister Juan Carlos Holguín indicated, in an interview in Teleamazon, that the country always had a contingency plan in case the agreement with Mexico was not concluded.
For this reason, the idea of activating in parallel “all trade agreements with Asian countries, with Central American countries, Ecuador’s entry into the Alliance for Development in Democracy (ADD), which is perhaps one of the most important diplomatic milestones of 2022,” he said. The chancellor. (YO)
Source: Eluniverso
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