Port operator launches transport insurance for banana trade

MANILA - Contecon Guayaquil SA - the Ecuadorian subsidiary of global port developer and manager International Container Terminal Services, Inc. (ICTSI) -- is supporting growers at the world's largest banana-exporting port with a comprehensive insurance programme for the transport of their product.

Supported by multi-national insurers CHUBB and Zurich, the programme gives growers a single global insurance coverage for banana exports - from container handling and transport to third-party damages.

Insurance is an indispensable tool for the commercialisation of Ecuadorian bananas to international markets. Bananas are Ecuador's main export product after petroleum, with more than 60% of production exported to the European Union and the United States. Ecuador also supplies Russia and Asia.

Compared to traditional insurance, which covers only limited phases in transportation of the fruit, the integral transport insurance covers the banana grower until delivery at customer destination.

Jose Antonio Contreras, Contecon Guayaquil SA chief executive, said increased logistics collaboration between the port and supply chain stakeholders would ensure that Ecuador remained the world's largest exporter of bananas:

"We wanted to leave behind the traditional role of the port that only receives and dispatches the cargo. We are positive that reducing risks for the export of goods will contribute to lower logistics costs, and should positively impact Ecuador's economic and social development, he said.

Plans are under way to extend the same type of integral insurance to other Ecuadian exporters.

Manila-headquartered ICTSI has invested more than USD325 million for its 20-year concession period to operate the Guayaquil Container and Multipurpose Terminals at the Port of Guayaquil, through to 2027.

ICTSI's portfolio of terminals and projects spans developed and emerging market economies in the Asia Pacific, the Americas, and Europe, the Middle East and Africa. www.ictsi.com (ATI).