ANALYSIS OF THE CHAIN OF THE BANANA INDUSTRY OF ECUADOR AND THE EUROPEAN MARKET

Bananas are among the four main crops in the world, including wheat, rice, and corn. It is the most exported fresh fruit in the world in terms of volume and value. The European Union (EU) is the largest banana importer globally with an estimated volume share of 33%. Ecuador is the top exporter since it is responsible for one-quarter of the world banana exportation. It represents 22% of total world exports, 27% of total agricultural exports in the country and 8% of the value of all exports (including oil). The present work analyzed the chain of the banana industry of Ecuador and its position in the EU market. A non-experimental empirical method with a quantitative and qualitative approach was used supported by scholarly literature and secondary research data collection. Results obtained show that the main countries destination shipped 87.8 % of total bananas exported from Ecuador in the period of 2007 – 2017. The largest importer of Ecuadorian banana is the European Union (28.9%). In Ecuador, approximately 78% of the banana producers are small companies, by adding the medium ones 95.6% is reached. Thus, the production of bananas in the country is mainly based on the family economy. In 2019, the official banana box price for producers in Ecuador is USD 6.30. In the EU market, it can reach over USD 18.00. It suggested an unfair payment to small and medium producers.

香蕉是全球四大主栽农作物之一，其余三者分别为小麦、水稻与玉米。按交易量与交易总额计算，香蕉是全球出口规模最大的新鲜水果。欧盟（European Union, EU）是全球最大的香蕉进口市场，其香蕉进口量约占全球总进口量的33%。厄瓜多尔是全球最大的香蕉出口国，其香蕉出口量占全球香蕉总出口量的四分之一。香蕉出口占全球总出口额的22%、该国农业出口总额的27%，以及全国所有出口商品（含石油）总价值的8%。本研究针对厄瓜多尔香蕉产业链及其在欧盟市场的地位展开分析，采用非实验性实证研究方法，结合定量与定性分析手段，依托学术文献与二手研究数据完成数据收集与分析工作。研究结果显示，2007年至2017年间，厄瓜多尔香蕉出口总量的87.8%销往主要目的进口国。欧盟是厄瓜多尔香蕉的最大进口市场，进口份额达28.9%。在厄瓜多尔，约78%的香蕉生产商为小型企业，若将中型企业纳入统计，则该占比可达95.6%。由此可见，该国香蕉生产主要以家庭经营模式为主体。2019年，厄瓜多尔生产商的官方香蕉箱装收购价为6.30美元。而在欧盟市场，该收购价可升至18.00美元以上，这一价差凸显了中小生产商所获收益的不合理性。