Latitude of Ecuador: the republic is ready to increase fruit supplies to Russia

In 2025, Ecuador plans to increase exports of exotic fruits, as well as fish and seafood to Russia, Juan Fernando Holguin Flores, Ambassador of the Latin American state in Moscow, told Izvestia. According to him, the end of the Ukrainian crisis can also contribute to economic cooperation between our countries. Several business delegations from Ecuador will visit Russia this year. In the event of a potential lifting of anti-Russian sanctions, Russia's trade turnover with other Latin American countries may also improve, the expert community says.

Ecuador is interested in strengthening trade cooperation with the Russian Federation

Against the background of negotiations on the possible end of the conflict between Moscow and Kiev, Ecuador expects to increase the supply of its products to Russia. This was reported to Izvestia by the embassy of the Latin American country in the Russian Federation.

— Thanks to the ongoing negotiations on a possible end to the conflict, it is expected that a more favorable environment will lead to an increase in Ecuadorian exports to Russia in 2025. This year, Ecuador intends to expand the list of companies authorized to export to Russia, especially in the aquaculture sector. In addition, there is interest in strengthening exports of exotic fruits such as pitahaya, as well as processed products such as frozen broccoli," says Ecuadorian Ambassador Juan Fernando Holguin Flores.

In order to strengthen trade and economic cooperation, an AVTOVAZ delegation will visit Ecuador in the coming weeks to explore the possibility of returning to the Latin American car market, the embassy said. Izvestia had previously sent a request to a Russian company.

In addition, in order to find new opportunities for cooperation, 12 Ecuadorian companies specializing in flower exports will visit Moscow from September 8-10 to participate in the Flowers Expo, the diplomat says. A little later in September (September 16-19), a delegation from one of the local companies will arrive in the Russian capital to participate in the WorldFood Moscow food exhibition. And in October, according to the embassy, Ecuadorian businessmen will take part in a specialized event for fishermen in St. Petersburg.

In 2024, the volume of Ecuadorian exports to Russia and the EAEU decreased by 2.14% compared to 2023, largely due to a reduction in banana supplies - they accounted for 63% of all products that the Latin American state sends to the region. Among the reasons are the difficult climatic conditions that affected production facilities, inflation and the fall of the ruble, which made Ecuadorian bananas more expensive for the Russian buyer. The Ambassador also notes the impact of the temporary suspension of banana exports from February 2 to February 16 for political reasons, as well as logistical difficulties.

Despite this, Russia remains Quito's strategic partner and an important destination for Ecuadorian exports, says Juan Fernando Holguin Flores. Amid falling banana exports, Ecuador managed to increase supplies of other goods. For example, in 2024, Russia received 29% more shrimp, almost 7% more roses, increased exports of cocoa (+548%) and fish (+38%).

Development of trade with Latin American countries

The dialogue between Russia and the United States can have a positive impact on Moscow's economic relations with other countries in the Latin American region, according to the expert community, but the process may be quite lengthy.

— There is hope that imports from the Andean countries will expand, which has dropped significantly over the years. We are talking, for example, about Argentina. We have a fairly limited range of goods with these countries. In addition, Mexico has reduced its supplies to Russia and Mexico, which previously supplied us with electronics and equipment," Lyudmila Simonova, head of the ILA RAS Center for Economic Research, tells Izvestia.

As for Argentina, earlier in an interview with Izvestia, the Russian ambassador to that country reported that in the first three quarters of 2024, bilateral trade decreased by 15% compared to the same period last year. Moreover, the diplomat identified Western sanctions as one of the main reasons, which complicate logistics and mutual settlements.

Normalization in the international arena may have a positive impact on trade relations between Russia and Brazil. This country is now one of Moscow's key economic partners in Latin America, largely due to the fact that Brazil is a member of the BRICS, as well as the fact that the parties, according to the expert, have managed to achieve de-dollarization in commercial relations. Brazil accounts for more than 70% of the trade turnover in the region, but even here the lifting of sanctions will allow Moscow to start supplying machinery, vehicles and electronics, Lyudmila Simonova notes.

In addition, an important factor is Donald Trump's complicated relations with a number of Latin American countries.

— The countries of this region will suffer from Donald Trump's policy in the context of duties. It should be understood that since these companies are losing ground in the American market, they will seek to trade more with Russia and China," the expert said.

On April 2, 25 percent U.S. trade duties on goods from Mexico and Canada will take effect. Washington took this measure because, according to the new American administration, neighboring countries are not sufficiently combating the supply of the synthetic drug fentanyl. Economists have already calculated that the country's GDP will decrease by 1.3% in 2025 and by 0.6% in 2026. Thus, Mexico may become the only G20 country in recession in the next two years.

The United States also imposed duties on steel and aluminum supplies from abroad, which negatively affected Brazil, one of the largest suppliers of these goods to the United States, along with Canada and Mexico. Brasilia will lose about $1.5 billion from the introduction of 25 percent tariffs, and metal production will decrease by an average of 700 thousand tons, experts say.