What are the 10 'superfoods' that Ecuador exports?
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Loading... - Isabel Mejia
- 23 Mar 2022
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Between January and December 2021, Ecuador exported $600 million worth of so-called 'superfoods', which are organically prepared foods, such as fruits, seeds, tubers, herbs, roots, that have a high nutritional value (more nutrients per calorie).
In certain markets, such as the United States and Europe, there are more and more business opportunities for natural products , with nature-friendly processing; and that are also part of the trend of a healthier life.
Top-10 of the 'superfoods'
The Ecuadorian Federation of Exporters (Fedexpor) made a list of the most exported 'superfoods' from Ecuador.
Broccoli takes first place. Sales totaled $150 million during 2021. Since 2018, the average growth of this product is 11%.
2. Secondly, the Ecuadorian superfood sector has pitahaya as its star . Exports totaled $91 million in 2021; but the average growth, during the last four years, is 42%.
3 and 4. In third and fourth place are hearts of palm and banana puree , which sold $66 million and $53 million, respectively. However, the growth of these two products has not exceeded 3% since 2018.
4. In fifth place is the pineapple , which in 2021 became the best-selling in South America and eighth in the world . In total, exports of this fruit totaled $51 million, with an average annual growth of 7%.
6. In sixth place is the mango, with sales of $49 million and an increase of 3% compared to the levels of four years ago.
7. In seventh place is taro root, also known as malanga , which is an edible tuber from the same family as cassava. It is used to prepare soups and stews and the leaves are edible. Exports of this product reached $44 million during 2021, with an average growth of 16%.
8. and 9. In eighth and ninth place are two products with a higher degree of added value, such as passion fruit concentrate and chocolate (cocoa powder, nibs, among others). Concentrate sales reached $38 million; meanwhile, those of chocolate totaled $15 million in the last year. However, in the latter case, what is worrying is that the average growth, between 2018 and 2021, was -17%, despite the fact that around 60 companies are dedicated to producing value-added products from cocoa.
10. Finally, the tenth place is for beans. Sales totaled $15 million, with an average growth of 4%.
We still generate little added value
Only three of the ten export superfoods have any degree of value added. This is because most of the investment in innovation and technology is still low.
Thus, for example, in the cocoa sector , less than 1% of total income is invested in the purchase and improvement of assets to improve the processing of cocoa and other derived products.
In total, 'superfoods' currently represent 4% of Ecuador's non-oil and non-mining exports. On the contrary, in the close neighbors of Peru and Colombia, the percentage exceeds 12%.
From public bodies such as the Ministry of Agriculture , there are no clear plans for the development of 'superfoods', despite the fact that agri-food production has the potential to be the true competitive advantage of Ecuadorian exports .
Destinations of the 'superfoods'
The main markets for these products are between the United States and the European Union; however, a good part of the non-traditional supply also goes to countries in the region, such as Chile, Peru and Colombia. Read More...
