Ecuador’s food processing industry is a key player within the country’s manufacturing sector. By some estimates the food processing sector accounts for about 45 percent of the manufacturing sector’s contribution to the country’s roughly $66 billion gross domestic product. This sector in 2013 accounted for about one-third of Ecuador’s estimated $25 billion export earnings. Ecuadorian companies tend to import specialized food ingredients such as flavoring agents, colorants, preserving agents, and emulsifiers. Ecuador lacks the means necessary to manufacture these products in sufficient volume.
