Ecuador Launches Tuna Executive Table With Harvard Growth Lab Support

Ecuador installed the first Mesa Ejecutiva del Sector Atunero, bringing together the government, private sector, and international organizations to identify and execute solutions for the tuna value chain.

The first session prioritized seven strategic work axes for public policy tied to productive development.

Institutional Support

The Ministry of Production, Foreign Trade, and Investments said the process has technical support from the Growth Lab at Harvard University, led by Ricardo Hausmann, and support from the Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean.

The table presented a results-focused methodology designed to convert sector problems into concrete actions, with defined responsible parties, execution deadlines, and permanent follow-up.

Policy Model

The ministry said executive tables will be implemented progressively in other productive sectors and provinces to identify growth restrictions, promote productive diversification, and strengthen technical and institutional capacity through evidence-based policy with a territorial focus.

The ministry also said the mechanism will support higher-value-added sectors, strengthen public-private coordination, and generate measurable solutions to improve Ecuador’s competitiveness.

What To Watch

For tuna exporters, processors, logistics providers, and investors, the signal is institutional: the government is testing a sector-table model with external technical backing. The next material indicator is whether the seven axes turn into dated actions with named owners and measurable execution.