The Association of Banana Exporters of Ecuador (AEBE), with the financial support of the German cooperation GIZ, has launched the Safe Banana: Prevention and Mitigation of Foc TR4 Risks project in Ecuador. "This is a crucial step in the fight against Fusarium TR4, one of the main threats facing banana production in the country since its detection in Colombia in 2019," said José Antonio Hidalgo, executive director of AEBE, at a press conference.

According to a recent analysis by maritime research and consulting firm Drewry, the Global pool of shipping containers for the current and coming years will contract. The forecast is influenced by continually high inflation rates worldwide, which have suppressed demand, and growing geopolitical instability affecting investor confidence, collectively reducing the growth outlook for global trade.

They had already sounded the alarm with a press release at the beginning of November; this time, it is in an assembly that the "collective of agricultural workers poisoned by pesticides" reiterates its revelations. According to them, banana agricultural workers in Martinique are exposed to Chlordecone through the water used to wash the bananas. Farmers are ready, if necessary, to modify the treatment of this water.

The shipping industry is beginning to take alternative routes to avoid the ongoing restrictions at the Panama Canal as the region continues to suffer from its most significant drought in 70 years. Reports have emerged of numerous shipping companies choosing a different way of moving their ships after the Panama Canal Authority (ACP) announced further restrictions to movement through the central shipping lane, allowing just 25 booking slots per day and planning to reduce this further to 18 in February 2024.

Vietnam has become the second largest banana exporter to China, behind only the Philippines, accounting for 28.2% of the total amount of bananas imported by the market, the Import-Export Department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade has announced.

South Korea is eager to see increased trade and investment with the Philippines, Korean Ambassador to the Philippines Lee Sang-hwa said on December 5 as he conveyed Seoul's intention to ratify its recently signed free trade agreement with Manila "soon". Lee said the Senate of the Philippines has also assured him that it would soon concur in the deal's ratification.

Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) has reached an important milestone in its proposed investment in Hamburger Hafen und Logistik Aktiengesellschaft (HHLA), which operates the Port of Hamburg. The carrier has completed the first phase of the tender offer process. It is now moving into the second phase, which runs until December 7, with the company reporting good progress toward completing the proposed acquisition.

Many Ecuadorian companies have stepped forward to implement programs for the betterment of the communities in which they operate. For this reason, Dole created the DALE Foundation in 2001 to formalize its social commitment to Ecuador and the banana-growing areas.

The pineapple producer Anexco, which belongs to the fruit importer Fyffes, has opened its health centre in Costa Rica. It is intended to ensure primary medical care for employees and their families, as Fyffes' Latin America boss, Alasdair Macleod, explains. In addition to areas for occupational safety and health promotion, the new building also houses a dining room, several treatment rooms and an operating room for minor surgical procedures.

Oxfam Germany has filed a complaint against Edeka and Rewe, the two largest food retailers in Germany, for "working conditions on banana plantations in Ecuador and Costa Rica," according to Banana Link[https://www.bananalink.org.uk/news/oxfam-germany-files-complaint-under-new-supply-chain-law/].

A.P. Moller – Maersk would like to inform you of the next steps in the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) and the impact compliance will have on your supply chain. As of 1 January 2024, shipping will be included into the EU ETS, which sets an annual absolute limit on emissions of certain greenhouse gases (GHG) and requires the purchase of allowances for emissions. Therefore, the inclusion of shipping in the EU ETS puts a price on GHG emissions.

• Unprecedented synergies and investments from private and public stakeholders to decarbonize the shipping industry. • Call for targeting the highest levels of ambition of the IMO GHG Strategy to achieve Net Zero by 2050 and implementing newbuilding standards that support the energy transition.

According to the Association of Banana Marketing and Export of Ecuador (Acorbanec), banana buyers from the EU and other markets are reluctant to pay the increase in the minimum support price of the banana box in Ecuador, which is paid to producers, after it rose from USD 6.50 in 2022 to USD 6.85 per box agreed on November 6, 2023. The Ministry of Agriculture made the price official on November 13 with Ministerial Agreement 089.

Fruit exports from Chile, Peru, and Ecuador could be affected by restrictions on the Panama Canal. Shipping lines will have lower cargo capacity and handle stricter itineraries. It is due to the drought, which has reduced the number of transits and the maximum draught allowed. In the last quarter of the year, the outlook for reefer container transport has weakened, and cargo demand is expected to register a second consecutive year of decline.

According to Netafim, an agricultural technology company, Colombia has 40,000 million arable hectares, and today, 5.3 million are exploited, representing 13% of the planted area in the country. Given its obvious importance for food security, and with the imminent arrival of El Niño, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, headed by its minister Jhenifer Mojica, has allocated $63,000 million for farmers who want to make improvements or build irrigation and drainage systems, and thus foresee declines in their production.