Los Rios
Ecuador's banana capital (37% of national output), $3.27B export sector, 148,000 workers. 2024 cold weather cut exports 1.83%. By 2026, climate adaptation and monoculture diversification determine whether agricultural dominance concentrates or distributes.
Ecuador's banana heartland—Los Ríos produces 37% of national output, more than Guayas (32%) or El Oro (24%). The province anchors the world's largest banana export sector ($3.27B in 2022), with 148,000 workers across the three main producing regions. Most residents live rurally, working plantations that feed global supermarket chains.
The model created wealth and dependency simultaneously. August 2024 showed 38+ sheaths per hectare in Los Ríos (above national average), but overall exports fell 1.83% year-on-year. Cold weather restricted supply precisely when demand grew. The province also leads in rice (23% of national production, second only to Guayas), but climate models predict rice yields may increase here while declining in Guayas—geographic lottery determining agricultural futures.
Babahoyo (the capital) serves as agricultural processing hub: coffee, cacao, sugarcane, tobacco join bananas and rice. But monoculture concentration means when banana prices drop or weather disrupts harvest, the entire provincial economy contracts. Diversification rhetoric meets plantation reality.
2026 trajectory: Climate adaptation becomes existential—Los Ríos may benefit from warming if irrigation infrastructure expands. Banana sector consolidation continues as smallholders sell to larger operations. Rice production potentially expands to offset Guayas declines. The province's agricultural dominance either compounds or redistributes.