Bananas have long been synonymous with Ecuadorian industry as the leading exporter of the world's most traded fruit, but seldom discussed are its burgeoning broccoli enterprises grown under unique conditions at altitude with year-round production.

One grower hopes Russian buyers will take notice however, now that competitors from Spain are out of the picture in the wake of the giant country's ban on food products from the EU, the U.S., Norway, Canada and Australia.

Click here for more from our coverage of the impacts of Russia's ban.

"Ecuador is the only country that has managed to grow this crop at 2,800 meters above sea level, and at this altitude we basically guarantee that there will not be any problems with defects," says Xavier Hervas, who heads up IQF (instant quick freeze) brassica exporter Nova Alimentos, based in the sierra province of Cotopaxi.

"It's not that our products are expensive either, but the problem is that the frozen industry has a frozen water layer of 20-30%, and with that they gain weight.

"In Ecuador we don't do that, so we haven't had many results with Russian buyers because they tend to see us as a costly origin. Russians pay by the kilo, so they see our product as more expensive even though it doesn't have this extra icing over like it does from Spain."

The executive says other broccoli climes have fewer harvesting cycles, but Ecuador's lack of seasons due to its position on the ecuator leads to ongoing and consistent cultivation.

"In the day we have a temperature of 20°C (68°F) and at night it’s around 5°C (41°F) and this difference of temperature is a good natural barrier against insects, diseases, fungus and the like," says Hervas, whose company makes up around one fifth of total production.

"Therefore we don't have to make as many applications to keep our product free of insects," he adds, highlighting that while his operation grows conventional and not organic product, this fact keeps residues at bay.

The resulting quality has been a big hit in Japan, which is Ecuador's largest frozen broccoli market, followed by the European Union and other destinations like the U.S., Canada and Chile.

"The benefits of Ecuadorian broccoli are not well known in Russia so the development will be a bit slow, but eight years ago we were the third-largest origin to Japan with small volume," he says.

"Today we are the second-biggest provider after China – before Mexico was second but now they are third – and we have eight times more volume than Mexico.

"And each day the Japanese are increasingly buying product from Ecuador when they would have bought from China – there is a difference in price as our product is more expensive, but the difference in quality is important."

Ecuador may not have sufficient broccoli volumes to replace product lost from other suppliers to Russia, but Hervas says the recent market changes are an impetus to ship to the country.

"It's not something where we can immediately send gigantic volumes as we can only harvest the fields we have, but it gives us an opportunity to keep growing," he says, mentioning the industry has around 1,500 hectares of broccoli planted with a total production of around 30,000 metric tons (MT).

"Right now what we are processing is with a program that is five months prior because we have to prepare the fields, plant and harvest.

"What we can do is send something that can substitute some of the immediate need in Russia, and that's why we expect greater volumes."

Carlos Lema Bone from Ecuador's trade office ProEcuador in Moscow also highlights the high quality of the country's broccoli, with hopes for a ramp up in shipments from what to date has been "occassional" supply.

"There was almost no space to export it before because of the large supply that Spain, Italy and Poland have, which now doesn’t exist. On that note, Ecuador could have a very strong push in Ecuador," he says.

Lema Bone tells www.freshfruitportal.com his country makes up around 92-94% of Russia's banana market, so the recent embargo on certain countries has little direct effect.

However, he believes substitution effects could come into play as prices rise for other produce items like apples.

"We expect Russian consumers will consume more bananas, because they’ll see other fruits with high prices," he says.

"What happens is that there will be a situation of migration, consuming one fruit instead of another, and in that aspect Ecuador could also sell more pineapples, physalis and mangoes.

"We've been receiving calls with a lot of frequency, calls from importers with the same question, 'what can Ecuador send apart from bananas and flowers?' So we’re in the process of revising all the real exportable product from Ecuador that could be sent to Russia."

Outside the horticultural sector, Lema Bone also sees strong opportunities for hake fish, which used to be exported in large quantities by Canada prior to the ban.

Related story: Ecuador to reinforce Russian fruit market position

Photo: www.shutterstock.com

www.freshfruitportal.com