Ecuador’s bananas caught in trade war crossfire

Ecuadoran banana exporters lost a key market after President Daniel Noboa waded into Russia-Ukraine war politics.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Noboa agreed to send Russian-made military equipment to the U.S., which was then going to ship it to Ukraine’s government to fight the Russians in the conflict. The U.S., in turn, was to provide Ecuador with U.S. made equipment to help in its fight against gang violence.

Then Russia stopped buying Ecuador’s bananas.

That forced Ecuador to change directions and not send the equipment to the U.S., the Journal reported, and in response, Russia has lifted the banana ban.

About 25 percent of Ecuador’s bananas go to Russia, accounting for about $800 million a year.

Noboa is a political outsider who became president last November. He comes from one of the country’s richest families thanks to his father Alvaro Noboa’s banana business, Noboa Corp., which includes more than 100 companies in dozens of countries. Daniel Noboa also worked for the company before getting into politics.

His father ran for president several times unsuccessfully.