Mixed picture for Ecuadorean fruit exports

Ecuador saw strong growth in exports of blueberries, mangoes, passion fruit and avocados in the first half of 2026 compared to the year-earlier period, according to the Ministry of Economic and Productive Development.

However, when newspaper Expreso cross-referenced the export data with foreign trade statistics from the Central Bank of Ecuador, the results showed a less clear-cut picture: While the value of blueberry and mango exports surged, avocados and passion fruit fared less well.

Although shipments are still relatively low compared to other fruits, blueberries is one of the products that has seen the most significant growth in recent years. In the six months to June, export volume increased by 152.6 per cent, while revenue grew by 359.2 per cent compared to the first half of 2025.

The average export price reached US$3,636 per tonne – an increase of 81.8 per cent over the previous year. “This jump coincides with the US’s growing prominence as a buyer; its share of export value rose from less than 1 per cent in 2025 to 86.3 per cent in 2026,” Expreso said.

Mangoes follow a similar pattern, albeit from a different starting point. Export volume grew 15.7 per cent, while the value generated by those shipments increased by 162.3 per cent. This was again due to a big jump in the average export price, which rose from US$532 per tonne to US$1,206 per tonne, and growing interest from the US market.

In the first half of 2025, the US accounted for just 2.1 per cent of Ecuador’s mango shipments, but this year the figure rose to 63.8 per cent.

By contrast, the value of avocado exports grew by just 18.4 per cent between January and June, despite shipment volume rising from 1,315 tonnes to 2,884 tonnes – an increase of 119.3 per cent. The average export price fell by 46 per cent to US$1,149 per tonne.

Passion fruit showed an even wider gap between volume and revenue. Exports increased by almost 477 per cent in the first half of 2026, rising from 177 tonnes to 1,022 tonnes. But their value increased by just 63.2 per cent. Spain – which remained the biggest market – saw the FOB value drop off by 23.4 per cent, even though its purchase volume increased by 7.6 per cent.

Against this backdrop, the average export price for passion fruit fell by 71.7 per cent to US$959 per tonne, down from US$3,389 the previous year.

The ministry noted that while the US and the European Union remain key destinations, countries such as Chile, the UAE, Israel, and Singapore “represent new opportunities for Ecuadorean fruit exports”.

However, the presence of avocados, mangoes, blueberries, and passion fruit in these destinations remains limited. During the first half of 2026, the four countries combined accounted for no more than 4 per cent of the export value for any of these four fruits.

Singapore was the exception: in the first half of 2025 it accounted for 36.9 per cent of the value of Ecuador’s blueberry exports, though that share dropped to 3.98 per cent in the same period of 2026. “Consequently, it cannot be considered a consolidated market either,” the ministry said.

The government has worked hard to open up new markets for Ecuadorean fruit through bilateral trade agreements. However, exporters pointed out that these agreements must be accompanied by sanitary clearances that allow for actual market access.

Xavier Rosero, executive president of the Ecuadorian Federation of Exporters (Fedexpor), said institutional sluggishness in negotiating and securing sanitary access to priority markets was limiting exporters’ ability to capitalise on these opportunities.

Rosero points specifically to the process of gaining market access for Ecuadorean avocados to the US, noting that this process has been delayed for over a year due to a lack of action by the country’s plant health authority, and approval has yet to be granted.