The Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance (Rosselkhoznadzor) has allowed the import of bananas from Ecuador to five companies, details will be discussed during a video conference on February 19th.

The head of the Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance (Rosselkhoznadzor), Sergei Dankvert, announced the issuance of permits for the supply of bananas from Ecuador to five companies. Guarantees from the relevant services of Ecuador were taken into account, while the technical details will be discussed later. A video conference with Ecuador's control service is planned for February 19.

Earlier, Rosselkhoznadzor reported the detection of a dangerous quarantine object - the spotted wing drosophila in bananas from Ecuador. In connection with this, the department suspended certification for five exporters who violated the requirements. In response, the Minister of Foreign Trade of Ecuador provided technical justification for reconsidering restrictions on banana imports to Russia. In addition, a delegation from Ecuador will travel to Moscow to resolve issues with banana supplies.

The Director of the Association of Food Producers and Suppliers "Rusprodsoyuz," Dmitry Vostrikov, announced that the average retail price for bananas was 156 rubles/kg this week, while it was 156.2 rubles/kg at the beginning of February. Vostrikov noted that banana prices depend on the balance of supply and demand, exchange rate dynamics, and logistics costs. If supply in the market increases, this may lead to a decrease in prices, provided that the exchange rate and logistics costs remain stable.

In early February, the CEO of Fruitnews agency, Irina Kozii, expressed concerns that restrictions on banana imports from Ecuador could cause a "panic surge in prices," which would later stabilize. She also noted that the existing counter-sanctions have increased the cost of fruits for Russian consumers by 20-25%. The Deputy Director of Rusprodsoyuz, Dmitry Leonov, reported that banana imports to Russia for the first 11 months of 2023 exceeded 1.306 million tons, with over 1.302 million tons coming from Ecuador. In case of adverse events with Ecuador, there may be an increase in banana imports from other countries such as Guatemala, the Philippines, Vietnam, Colombia, and Costa Rica.

Primicias newspaper reported that Ecuador is facing difficulties in finding new markets for excess bananas that used to be exported to Russia before the introduction of restrictive measures. Currently, Ecuadorian banana producers are redirecting their production to countries in the Middle East and Central Asia, including Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and the UAE.

The Executive Director of the Marketing and Export Association of Ecuadorian Bananas (Acorbanec), Richard Salazar, noted that the demand for bananas from Ecuador remains high, and they are not being held in the country. However, Ecuador finds it difficult to find an alternative market comparable to the Russian one. According to Acorbanec, Ecuador exported 75 million boxes of bananas to Russia in 2023, accounting for 21% of the global supply volume.