Ecuador sets banana box price at 7.52 dollars for 2027

The Ministry of Economic and Productive Development set the Minimum Support Price (MSP) for a 43-pound box of bananas at USD 7.52, which will be in effect throughout 2027, after the negotiation table between producers and exporters closed without a consensus. The decision is contained in Ministerial Agreement No. MDEP-MDEP-2026-0043-A, signed on October 26, 2026, by Minister Bernardo Antonio Cordovez Cereceda and published in Official Registry No. 405 on Monday, November 9, 2026, on page 3.

The legal framework and the origin of the figure

The agreement is issued under Article 1 of the Codification of the Law to Stimulate and Control the Production and Commercialization of Bananas, Plantains (Barraganete) and other Related Musaceae Destined for Export, which obligates the State to set the minimum price that the producer must receive at the foot of the ship each year and establishes that, if the negotiation table does not reach an agreement, the ministry sets the values through a ministerial agreement. The Regulations of that law are contained in Executive Decree No. 818, published in Official Registry No. 499 on July 26, 2011, and the operational procedure in Ministerial Agreement No. 103, published in the Supplement of Official Registry No. 419 on March 26, 2021.

Competence was transferred to this ministry through the merger arranged in Executive Decree No. 425, dated June 18, 2026, which absorbed the Ministry of Production, Foreign Trade and Investments and the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries into the Ministry of Economy and Finance, renamed the Ministry of Economic and Productive Development. Minister Cordovez Cereceda was appointed via Executive Decree No. 509, dated September 28, 2026.

A table without agreement and a technical report

The Vice-Ministry of Agricultural Production and Rural Development summoned the accredited representatives via Official Letter No. MDEP-VPADR-2026-0072-OF, dated October 16, 2026, and the table met on October 23, 2026, in Guayaquil without the parties reaching a consensus, according to the respective minutes. The file contains the economic proposals presented by:

• AGROBAN
• FENABE
• AEBE–ACORBANEC

On October 24, 2026, the Directorate of Musaceae Management issued the technical report that analyzed those proposals, production costs, market conditions, and competitiveness factors, and recommended an MSP of USD 7.52 for the 43-pound box and an export expense component of USD 2.75. The Undersecretariat of Agricultural and Forestry Production forwarded the report via Memorandum No. MDEP-SPAF-2026-0294-M, and the Directorate of Institutional Advisory issued a favorable legal opinion with Memorandum No. MDEP-DAINPADR-2026-0264-M, both dated October 26, 2026.

Prices by box type

Article 1 of the agreement establishes the PMS (Minimum Support Price) free on board for export bananas, applicable from January 1 to December 31, 2027, with the 43-pound box as a reference of USD 0.1749 per pound:

• 22XU, 41.5 pounds: USD 7.26 per box
• 22XU, 43.0 pounds: USD 7.52 per box
• 208/Hands, 31.0 pounds: USD 5.42 per box
• 2527, 28.0 pounds: USD 4.90 per box
• 22XUCSS, 46.0 pounds: USD 4.02 per box, with a specific rate of USD 0.0874 per pound

Article 2 sets the PMS for baby bananas (box BB) and red bananas (box BM) at USD 5.27 per 15-pound box, equivalent to USD 0.3515 per pound.

F.O.B. Price, validity, and control

Article 3 establishes the referential minimum F.O.B. prices with an exporter expense component of USD 2.75 per box: USD 10.01 for the 41.5-pound 22XU, USD 10.27 for the 43-pound box, USD 8.17 for the 208/Hands, USD 7.65 for the 2527, and USD 6.77 for the 22XUCSS. Article 4 sets the referential F.O.B. for baby and red bananas at USD 8.02. Any difference exceeding that reference will be assumed by the international importer.

The agreement repeals, as of January 1, 2027, Ministerial Agreement No. 107 of September 16, 2025, which had set the 43-pound box at USD 7.50 (USD 0.1744 per pound) and the export expense component at USD 2.25. The execution, application, control, and monitoring are the responsibility of the Undersecretariat of Agricultural and Forestry Production, through the Directorate of Musaceae Management.

The new floor of USD 7.52 applies to the entire banana and musaceae export chain during 2027: two cents more per box than in 2026, but with a half-dollar increase in the expense component that raises the referential F.O.B. of the reference box to USD 10.27. The increase will define the income of producers and exporters in a year without a sectoral agreement and with the precedent that the final decision remained in the hands of the Executive.

Source: Official Registry No. 405, Monday, November 9, 2026, Section I (Executive Function), p. 3 (official reference: Ministerial Agreement No. MDEP-MDEP-2026-0043-A).