Ecuador welcomed the lifting of a Russian ban on banana imports from the South American nation amid a spat over a weapons deal benefiting Ukraine.
Authorities in Moscow had cited the detection of pests as the reason for suspending imports of bananas and flowers from Ecuador 10 days ago.
But the move came weeks after Quito had agreed to a US weapons deal that would result in Ukraine receiving Soviet-era military equipment from Ecuador.
On Friday, Ecuador’s trade minister Sonsoles Garcia said on X that the Russian embargo on five banana exporting companies had been lifted.
“Good news. 100% of Ecuadoran banana exports to Russia are operational!” she said.
“We will continue working to guarantee fluid trade with Russia, an important destination for our agro-export offer.”
Ecuador’s ambassador in Moscow, Juan Fernando Holguin, said in an online video that the breakthrough underlined the importance of “the dialogue that must exist at all times between two countries that have traditionally had a close and very positive relationship.”
Ecuador is the world’s biggest banana exporter and one of the top exporters of flowers, mainly roses.
Nine out of 10 bananas imported by Russia come from Ecuador, according to Russian media.
Last month, Ecuador’s President Daniel Noboa announced he had accepted a US offer to exchange Soviet-era military equipment for modern US weapons in a $200 million deal.
The United States said the old Ecuadoran equipment would be shipped to Ukraine to help Kyiv in its conflict with Russia.
The deal angered Moscow, with Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova saying Ecuador had made a “reckless decision under serious pressure from external interested parties.”
Zakharova added Ecuador had a contractual obligation to not transfer equipment to a third party without Russia’s consent.
Noboa insisted Quito had every right to conduct the deal because it involved “scrap.”