According to Ecuador's Minister of Agriculture, Danilo Palacios, in an interview, only 54% of the volumes of exportable fruit would have been signed between banana producers and exporters.

The Minister, in a broadcast on a local television channel, called on producers to sign contracts with exporters. The signing of contracts is the only legal figure stipulated by the Banana Law for the fruit to be exported to foreign markets. In 2023, according to figures from the Banana Marketing and Export Association of Ecuador (Acorbanec), only 40% of the fruit was contracted. The rest was marketed paying the spot price of the week or day corresponding to the contract, that is, without warranties and at the market price at the time of negotiation, a figure not allowed by law in Ecuador but generally used by other producing and exporting countries. Acorbanec recognized that 55% of the exported fruit is marketed domestically, paying the prevailing spot price. According to Acorbanec, the average price was USD 7.20 per 18.50 kg box, only for the fruit, higher than the 2023 minimum support price (SMP) ($6.50) and the 2024 PSM ($6.85).

For the executive director of Acorbanec, the need for contract signing is worrying because the fruit could stay in the country and not be exported. For this reason, he said that Minister Palacios's position is correct. "I think the Minister's message is good; it's the right thing to do. We have the will to sign, but unfortunately, many producers don't want to sign; they don't want to sign contracts to sell on the spot".