Is Ecuador the World’s Largest Banana Exporter?
Short answer: yes. Ecuador exports more banana internationally than any other country. It is not, however, the world’s largest banana producer — that distinction…
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Cavendish Banana vs. Plantain: What Buyers Get Wrong
In casual English, “banana” and “plantain” sometimes get used as if they’re just different sizes of the same fruit. They’re not — and a…
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What the Banana Tariff Story Gets Wrong — and What Actually Changes in August 2026
Search “banana tariff” right now and you’ll mostly find consumer anxiety: is there a shortage coming, will supermarket prices spike, which foods get hit…
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Why Ecuador Is Asking the EU to Share Responsibility on Banana Container Security
It’s an uncomfortable fact for any exporter to put in writing, but it’s real and it’s public: legitimate banana shipments have been used by…
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Fusarium TR4: The Banana Disease Ecuador Is Watching Closely
Almost every banana sold internationally today is the same variety: Cavendish. That wasn’t always true, and the reason it changed is the same reason…
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Passing a Buyer Audit: How KATUNA Prepares Producers for BRC and SMETA
For smaller and mid-sized producers, the moment a large international buyer says “we’ll need a BRC or SMETA audit before we can move forward”…
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Sample-to-Shipment: What Quality Control Actually Looks Like Before Your Order Ships
“Quality control” shows up in almost every exporter’s marketing copy. It rarely comes with specifics. Here’s what it actually means at KATUNA, product by…
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How KATUNA’s Commission-Based Sourcing Model Works
Buyers evaluating a new Ecuadorian supplier usually ask the same underlying question in different words: what exactly am I paying for, and who actually…
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What Is Vannamei White Shrimp? A Complete Guide
If you’ve bought shrimp at a US grocery store or ordered it at a restaurant in the last decade, there’s a very good chance…
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Black Spots on Raw Shrimp: Accept, Discount, or Reject?
A shipment arrives. Someone on the receiving team opens a box, sees dark spots forming near the shell on a portion of the shrimp,…
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