Ecuador Cacao Export Value Falls 63.5% in Q1 2026 to $441M as Prices Correct From 2024 Peak
Ecuador's cacao export receipts contracted sharply in the first quarter of 2026, reflecting a global price reset rather than a volume collapse.
The figures
Per El Universo, cacao export value fell 63.5% in the first quarter of 2026. The value comparison:
| Period | Cacao export value |
|---|---|
| Q1 2025 | $1,208 million (a 164.7% YoY increase at the time) |
| Q1 2026 | $441 million |
The driver is price, not demand. The decline "responde principalmente a un ajuste en los precios internacionales del cacao" — primarily an adjustment in international cacao prices. The per-tonne trajectory:
| Reference point | Price per tonne |
|---|---|
| December 2024 (peak) | ~$12,000 |
| 2025 range | $7,000–$8,000 |
| May 2026 (for July sales) | ~$4,000 |
Industry reading
Merlyn Casanova, executive director of the Asociación Nacional de Exportadores de Cacao (ANECACAO) — Ecuador's national cacao exporters' association — characterized the move as expected: "Ajuste que siempre sostuvimos que se iba a dar desde que se inició en el 2024 el alza" (an adjustment we always maintained would come after the 2024 surge began). She added that "Ecuador continúa manteniendo una demanda sólida en mercados internacionales" — Ecuador continues to hold solid demand in international markets. Principal destinations remain the United States, the European Union, Russia and Canada.
What to watch
- Volume vs. value: the report quantifies a value decline driven by price; tonnage figures were not provided. Watch official volume data to confirm physical demand is holding as ANECACAO asserts.
- Price floor: the ~$4,000/t reference for July delivery against a December 2024 peak near $12,000/t sets the question of where the correction stabilizes.
- Producer margins and fiscal effect: a 63.5% value drop in a leading agro-export feeds through to grower income and export tax receipts in subsequent quarters.
Source: El Universo
Source
El Universo — "Por qué cayeron 63,5 % las exportaciones de cacao ecuatoriano en el primer trimestre de 2026"
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