Ecuador Travel Guide

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Statistics

•GDP: US$54.7 billion (2008 estimate).
•Main imports: Industrial materials, nondurable consumer goods, fuels and lubricants.
•Main exports: Petroleum, bananas, coffee, cacao, cut flowers and shrimp.
• Main trade partners: USA, Colombia, China, Brazil and Japan.

Economy

Following economic crisis and poverty, the adoption of the US Dollar (in 2000) has stablised the nation's economy. However, 38% of the population are still below the poverty line (2006). Growth was at 3.4% in 2008, with unemployment at 8.7% and inflation at 8.6%.

Ecuador has substantial petroleum resources, which has earned more than a half of the country's export revenue in recent years. It is the world's largest exporter of bananas and also grows coffee, cocoa, palm oil and sugar in significant quantities.

Fishing is another important sector: seafood exports have expanded rapidly to the point where Ecuador is now the world's second-largest producer of shrimps. The mining sector produces gold, silver, copper and other metals.

Ecuador is a member of the World Trade Organization. In recent years, the country's increasing oil revenues have largely been devoted to paying off the country's substantial foreign debt. Ecuador is a member of the main regional integration bodies: the Andean Union and Asociación Latinoamericana de Integración (ALADI).

Business Contacts

The Federación Nacional de Cámaras de Comercio del Ecuador.
This chamber usually swaps location, between Quito and Guayaquil, every two years. In 2008, it will be in Guayaquil:

Francisco de Orellana y Miguel Alciras, Ciudadela Kennedy Norte, Edificio Las Cámaras, Guayaquil, Ecuador
Tel: (4) 268 2771.

The address in Quito is:
Amazonas y República, Edificio las Cámaras, Apartado 17-01-202, Quito, Ecuador
Tel: (2) 244 3787.

Centro de Exposiciones Quito de la Federación Ecuatoriana de la Pequeña Industria de Pichincha (Information on Conferences/Conventions)
Avenidas Amazonas y Atahualpa no 34-332, Centro de Exposiciones, Quito, Ecuador
Tel: (2) 244 3388.
Website: www.capeipi.com