Ecuador Increases Banana Exports by 2.43% in 2025
Ecuador, the world's leading banana exporter, opened 2025 with a 2.43% increase in its banana exports compared to January of the previous year, according to the Ecuadorian Banana Exporters Association (AEBE). The country exported a total of 34.43 million boxes (each weighing approximately 40 pounds or 18.14 kilograms) in January 2025—an increase of 883,000 boxes from the same month in 2024. This growth occurred despite the loss of Algeria as a destination market, which accounted for a drop of 1.38 million boxes.
Exports surged to key European markets, notably France (up 123.51%), Spain (131.58%), and Malta (509.49%), contributing an additional 360,000 boxes. The European Union, Ecuador’s top banana market, saw a net increase of around 960,000 boxes in January, despite continued logistical challenges such as difficult navigation conditions and general delays at European ports, AEBE noted in a press release.
Other markets also showed promising recoveries and growth. Shipments to Russia rose by 4.63% (an additional 296,000 boxes), while exports to China grew by 17.89%, helped by the recent opening of a new trade route from Guayaquil to Shanghai via Peru’s Chancay port. This new route reduces shipping time by nearly a week. Although the trade agreement between Ecuador and China took effect in May 2024, its impact on banana exports has only just begun to materialize.
South Korea also emerged as a key growth market, with exports rising 39.14% in January 2025. The increase comes in the wake of South Korea’s temporary tariff removal on fresh fruit imports, a policy set to remain in place until June 2025. In 2024, Ecuador supplied 10% of South Korea's banana imports—up from 4% in 2023. Other important destinations like the United States (14.45%), Argentina (80%), and the Netherlands (29.26%) also saw strong export increases. Meanwhile, improved weather conditions in Ecuador—with rising temperatures and increased rainfall—may require additional investment in irrigation and drainage infrastructure to support sustained production growth, AEBE warned.
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