Following the approval of the Strategic Economic Cooperation Agreement (SECA) between Ecuador and South Korea by the National Assembly last Tuesday, some productive sectors are beginning to project the results of this agreement.
This is the case of the banana sector, which currently has a 30% tariff to enter the South Korean market and that will be reduced in five years, that is, the fruit will enter at 0% in 2031, indicates José Antonio Hidalgo, executive director of the Association of Banana Exporters of Ecuador (AEBE).
According to the leader’s estimates, when bananas enter the Asian country with 0% tariffs, they hope to reach a 25% share in that market and generate close to $100 million annually in foreign currency.
In 2025, the participation of Ecuadorian bananas in that market was 11%, with 3.57 million boxes exported ($49.28 million), almost double what was recorded in 2021, when it was 6%.
Hidalgo highlights that since 2022 the country made a strategic shift in its trade agenda to look towards Asia. It indicates that as a banana cluster, along with other key sectors of the Ecuadorian economy, the SECA was promoted and monitored.
“We were part of this process from the call of the fourth deputy in the 2022 negotiation, the pre-signature in 2023 in Seoul together with Korean companies, and today we celebrate its final approval in the National Assembly,” highlights the head of the AEBE.
He concludes that this agreement not only opens new commercial opportunities, but also strengthens Ecuador’s competitiveness.
According to the Ministry of Production, Foreign Trade and Investment, South Korea has a market of approximately 51 million people with a per capita income six times higher than that of Ecuador. 70% of its food demand is supplied with imports, which generates a favorable structural demand for Ecuador’s exportable supply of agricultural, fishing and agro-industrial products.
In addition, the head of that State portfolio, Luis Alberto Jaramillo, pointed out through a video on X that there is interest from South Korea in investing in Ecuador in energy, oil, gas and infrastructure projects. (YO)
