Análisis de caso

Abstract

The main objective of this work is to analyze the incidence of the Covid-19 health crisis on the competitiveness of the agro-export sector in Ecuador and its effects on the trade balance in 2020. It should be mentioned that the economic growth of a country is The result of the sum and difference of several productive activities that it performs, the main axis of economic development of Ecuador is the agro-export sector that is dedicated to the commercialization of products for consumption both within and outside the national territory, being the sector that has one of the nuances with the greatest impact on GDP growth and the trade balance; the same that records the activities carried out in exports and imports within a certain period, in this case the first semester of 2020 is analyzed. Through the development of this research, the main objective was fulfilled, which was to analyze the impact that the health crisis of COVID-19 has had on the competitiveness of the agro-export sector of Ecuador, for which a bibliographic review methodology was used in scientific journals and official pages that provide information on the reality of the country on the subject under study that is reflected in statistics of the trade balance during this period of time of the health crisis. Therefore, it is of paramount importance to highlight that the main agro-export products that Ecuador has are the primary ones such as bananas, shrimp, coffee, cocoa and their semi-processed products. Beyond the direct threats that the health crisis represents to people's health, there is an economic impact that is only beginning to be seen little by little, leaving room to consider that the economic reactivation in underdeveloped countries will be slow in the next few months. The vulnerability of the Ecuadorian economy is evident since it is based on the primary sector - exporter and the fall in the prices of raw materials, border closures and reduction of demand in the global market. The main exportable product that the country has is shrimp, which during 2019 represented 18% of non-oil exports, followed by Ecuadorian bananas. At the beginning of 2020, the first news about the impacts of COVID-19 in Asia and its effects on the Ecuadorian export sectors are published since the main market of the shrimp sector is China, this being the second most important commercial partner of the country , representing 70% of the Ecuadorian shrimp export market, thus the impact of COVID -19 in this market had an impact on the fall in demand and income restrictions, directly affecting small Ecuadorian shrimp farmers due to low prices that came below production costs, seriously affecting the continuation of production, as they produced massive layoffs and a debt crisis with suppliers of raw materials and shrimp inputs, bringing many producers to the point of bankruptcy. Similarly, in the case of the second largest agricultural export product in Ecuador, which is bananas, it has also been affected due to the reduction of quotas in exports and delays in payments that have directly affected small and medium producers banana trees. On the other hand, we have the cocoa and floriculture sector, the same ones that during this pandemic have had a 70% drop in their sales, seriously affecting their economy due to the reduction in income. In the case of other non-traditional products such as tuna and dragon fruit, they have also been seriously affected by the restriction of the markets. However, Ecuadorian products have a high competitive level due to their quality and flavor, this being a distinctive factor compared to products from other countries, which has allowed it to maintain a representative demand in terms of quantities despite the health crisis. of products in international markets, which is evidenced in the export statistics during the period from January to June of the year 2020. As a final result of the investigation, it is determined through the official page of the Central Bank of Ecuador, that in the first semester of 2020, the Total Trade Balance registered a surplus of $ 1,277.0 million compared to $ 1,161.9 million more than the result obtained during the same period in 2019, reaching the conclusion that the health crisis seriously affected small and medium producers but nevertheless seeking to maintain the production and commercialization of primary products through sources of financing that allow them to maintain liquidity already that there is demand for their products despite the presence of COVID-19.