LatinNews Daily - 19 August 2025

*The director of Ecuador’s central bank (BCE), Guillermo Avellán, has announced that according to preliminary figures the economy grew by 2.8% in annual terms in June, bringing accumulated growth for the first half of 2025 to 3.9%. Meanwhile, there was a trade surplus of US$4.17bn from January-June, up from US$3.74bn in the same period of 2024. This consisted of a US$3.11bn surplus in the trade of non-oil products, up from US$1.96bn year-on-year, and a US$1.06bn surplus in oil products, down from US$1.78bn. Ecuador’s main non-oil export over this period was shrimp (US$4.25bn, +19.8% year-on-year), followed by cacao and its derivatives (US$2.31bn, +82.4%) and bananas and plantains (US$2.23bn, +15.3%). Avellán said that although “the national economy still faces challenges relating to fiscal matters and pending reforms…it is appropriate to highlight that its development in the first half of 2025 exceeded the initial expectations and forecasts of the BCE and international organisations”.

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