QUITO, Feb 3 (NNN-PRENSA LATINA) — The President of Ecuador, Daniel Noboa, announced that after months of negotiations his country has finally reached a trade agreement with Canada, although he did not give a date for its signing and entry into force.
In a press release, the Ecuadorian Presidency stressed that the agreement will allow this South American country to offer its products under preferential conditions to a market of 39.8 million consumers.
According to the government, the sectors benefiting from the agreement include flowers, food, tuna, textiles, car parts, ceramics, footwear, wood, juices and pulp, cosmetics, plastics and hats, among others.
However, Ecuadorian social organisations have questioned the agreement, claiming that it will intensify mining activities and their negative social and environmental consequences.
Canada has become one of the main investors in Ecuador’s mining sector, with Lundin Gold’s Fruta del Norte gold mine that began operations in 2019, while other companies are in the process of obtaining permits to carry out projects in the Andes and Amazon.
According to data from the Ministry of Production, Foreign Trade, Investment and Fisheries, Canada was positioned as the eighth destination for Ecuador’s non-oil exports in 2023.
Ecuador’s main exports to Canada are gold and its concentrates, crude petroleum oils, cocoa, shrimp and roses, while the Andean country’s imports include cereals, diesel, fertilisers, vegetables and paper. — NNN-PRENSA LATINA
