AEBE: Ecuador expands banana exports to the Middle East, ready to serve any market

GUAYAQUIL, Ecuador, Oct. 30, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Ecuador, the world's leading banana exporter, says its output meets all international regulatory standards for any market, including the Middle East, which has become the third-largest export market for the fruit.

The Middle East accounts for 14% of Ecuadorian banana shipments, surpassing the United States (10%) and trailing only the European Union (30.5%) and Russia (22%), according to trade figures through August 2026.

This share represented 14.31 million boxes of bananas, up 3.55% from 2025, out of an overall total of 282 million boxes valued at $3 billion — a 9% increase compared to the same period last year.

"These are the markets where we want to keep gaining ground, continuously reassuring clients that Ecuadorian bananas meet every standard and requirement their domestic market demands," José Antonio Hidalgo, Executive Director of the Association of Ecuadorian Banana Exporters (AEBE), said in an interview with EFE.

Expectations across the Ecuadorian banana sector are running high following the signing of a free trade agreement with the United Arab Emirates, which will provide duty-free access to the Persian Gulf after high-level diplomatic outreach that included an official visit by President Daniel Noboa.

Turkey currently ranks as the largest regional buyer of Ecuadorian bananas, taking in 5.5 million boxes through August, followed closely by Saudi Arabia with 5.52 million boxes, with Jeddah serving as one of the world's key entry ports for the fruit.

To sustain this momentum, Hidalgo advocated for continued high-level diplomatic engagement alongside joint public-private trade delegations to consolidate bilateral ties. "That has been the formula in recent years: not just discussing and signing agreements, but also creating these public-private forums that highlight the origin and quality of the products," the AEBE executive noted during Banana Time Guayaquil 2026, Latin America's largest banana industry convention.

Hidalgo also underscored the importance of securing a presence at leading food and agriculture trade fairs across the Middle East to maximize trade ties with the region.

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