Four agricultural export consortia, including a Fairtrade banana association, have been established in Ecuador with the support of ProEcuador in a bid to help small to medium enterprises (SMEs) explore new opportunities on the international market.
The groups represent a voluntary alliance of companies within Ecuador’s Fairtrade banana, dried fruit and vegetable, quinoa and chocolate sectors, with the objective of jointly promoting their goods and/or services abroad.
The so-called Ecuadorean Fairtrade Banana Consortium comprises nearly 2,000 small to medium growers from the non-profit banana producer associations of Asociación Cerro Azul, Urocal and Cooperación San Miguel de Brasil, all of whom are GlobalGAP, Fairtrade and organic certified.
Each consortium has prioritised three target markets according to the current demand and the consumption trends for its products on these selected countries.
For the Fairtrade banana organisation those countries include the UK, Sweden and the US, while Canada, the US and the UK were selected as target markets for the dried fruit and vegetable group.
The Ecuadorean Fairtrade Banana Consortium has already made its first contact with the UK market, with the support of ProEcuador and its trade office in London.
For all four associations a set of promotional activities have been defined by their members in order to participate in trade fairs and on trade missions, among other activities.
Furthermore, ProEcuador, which benefits from 31 trade offices worldwide, plans to strengthen the export capabilities of the consortia by implementing marketing tools, such as creating their own websites; offering training and consultancy on corporate image and branding; and providing specialised market information and contacts, among other topics.
The move follows similar success in Argentina, Brazil, India, Italia, Mexico, Peru, explained ProEcuador.
“Because of their small size, SMEs often have difficulties to establish an export presence in foreign markets because of their lack of the necessary knowledge and financial means,” ProEcuador said.
“So they may not meet foreign regulatory requirements and the quantities and quality produced are often unattractive for foreign buyers.”
ProEcuador said the four consortia are located in territories with low levels of economic development, export potential, corporate social responsibility and sustainable development issues, among others.
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