According to FAO findings, the global oversupply of bananas is expected to last until 2005 and will drive down prices at least another 18%. Faced with a prolonged global surplus of their product, many of Ecuador’s banana producers are looking for alternative sources of income. The three most likely alternatives are switch to a different crop; switch to organic production; or offer a value added (processed) product. Ecuador has made great strides in banana processing in recent years.
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A number of banana processing plants have sprung up. Export sales of semi-processed bananas have risen considerably in recent years. According to Ecuador’s export promotion board, the country now offers bananas in dehydrated form as well as puree, flour, and flakes. During 2000, exports of these products exceeded 30m kilograms per year.
Industrias Boria (Inboria), Ecuador’s first exporter of banana puree, uses maturing chambers to bring the fruit to the proper level of sweetness and maturity before processing. The over 12m kilograms of puree produced by the plant annually is exported to the EU, Japan, and the United States where it is used in baby food, candy, ice cream, and juices.
Exports of dehydrated bananas to Chile, EU, Japan, and the US are on the rise. Banana flour is primarily exported to the EU, Japan, and the US.
By Steve Lewis, just-food.com correspondent
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