That dollar amount results from a 41.4% increase compared to $26.3 billion five years earlier during 2021.
Year over year, the total value of Ecuadorean exports grew by 7.9% from $34.4 billion in 2024.
Note that, since March 9, 2000, Ecuador adopted the US dollar as its legal currency.
Ecuador’s Key Trading Partners
The latest available country-specific data shows that 76.3% of products exported from Ecuador was bought by importers in: United States of America (18.5% of the Ecuadorean total), Panama (17.3%), mainland China (16.1%), Netherlands (4.3%), Spain (3.4%), Peru (2.9%), Russia (2.8%), Italy (2.41%), Colombia (2.38%), Malaysia (2.28%), Chile (2%) and Germany (1.97%).
From a continental perspective, 28.4% of Ecuador’s exports by value was delivered to Latin America excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean countries while 25.2% was sold to importers in Europe. Ecuador shipped another 24.9% worth of goods to buyers in Asia.
Smaller percentages went to customers in North America (20.9%), Africa (0.4%) then Oceania (0.2%) led by New Zealand and Australia.
Given Ecuador’s population of 18.1 million people, its total US$37.2 billion in 2025 exports translates to about $2,050 for every resident in the South American nation. That per-capita amount exceeds the $1,900 dollar average one year earlier in 2024.
Ecuador’s Top 10 Exports
The following export product groups represent the highest dollar value in Ecuadorean global shipments during 2025. Also shown is the percentage share each export category represents in terms of overall exports from Ecuador.
- Fish: US$8.8 billion (23.7% of total exports)
- Mineral fuels including oil: $7.8 billion (20.9%)
- Fruits, nuts: $4.8 billion (13%)
- Cocoa: $4.7 billion (12.6%)
- Ores, slag, ash: $3 billion (8.1%)
- Meat/seafood preparations: $1.9 billion (5.1%)
- Gems, precious metals: $1.2 billion (3.2%)
- Live trees, plants, cut flowers: $1.1 billion (2.8%)
- Wood: $656.9 million (1.8%)
- Vegetables: $431.1 million (1.2%)
Ecuador’s top 10 export product categories generated 92.3% of the overall value of total Ecuadorean shipments.
Ores, slag and ash represent the fastest grower among the top 10 export categories, up by 47.9% from 2024 to 2025.
In second place for improving export sales was cocoa via a 29% advance.
Ecuador’s shipments of vegetables posted the third-fastest gain in value, up by 26.7%.
The lone decliner among Ecuador’s top 10 export categories were mineral fuels including oil, thanks to a -19% drop year over year.
The above insights are presented at the two-digit Harmonized Tariff System (HTS) code level.
From the more detailed four-digit HTS code perspective, Ecuador’s most valuable exported products are lobsters including other crustaceans (22.6% of the Ecuadorean total). In second place was crude oil (18.8%) trailed by bananas and plantains (11.5%), cocoa beans (11.3%), preserved or prepared fish and caviar (5%), copper ores and concentrates (4.6%), precious metal ores and concentrates (3.5%), unwrought gold (3.1%), fresh or dried flowers (2.8%), then refined petroleum oils (2%).
Products Generating Ecuador’s Largest Trade Surpluses
Overall Ecuador recorded a US$4.5 billion trade surplus for 2025, falling by -8.6% compared to $4.93 billion in black ink one year earlier in 2024.
The following types of Ecuadorean product shipments represent positive net exports or a trade balance surplus. Investopedia defines net exports as the value of a country’s total exports minus the value of its total imports.
In a nutshell, net exports represent the amount by which foreign spending on a home country’s goods or services exceeds or lags the home country’s spending on foreign goods or services.
- Fish: US$8.7 billion (Up by 19.7% since 2024)
- Fruits, nuts: $4.7 billion (Up by 13.2%)
- Cocoa: $4.6 billion (Up by 29.2%)
- Ores, slag, ash: $3 billion (Up by 47.8%)
- Meat/seafood preparations: $1.9 billion (Up by 11%)
- Gems, precious metals: $1.2 billion (Up by 10.8%)
- Live trees, plants, cut flowers: $1 billion (Up by 1.1%)
- Mineral fuels including oil: $716.6 million (Down by -67.3%)
- Wood: $586.9 million (Up by 11.1%)
- Vegetables: $365.9 million (Up by 31.3%)
Ecuador has highly positive net exports under the fish product category.
Products Causing Ecuador’s Worst Trade Deficits
Below are exports from Ecuador that result in negative net exports or product trade balance deficits. These negative net exports reveal product categories where foreign spending on home country Ecuador’s goods trail Ecuadorean importer spending on foreign products.
- Machinery including computers: -US$3.4 billion (Up by 14.6% since 2024)
- Vehicles: -$2.6 billion (Up by 25.6%)
- Electrical machinery, equipment: -$2.3 billion (Up by 9.1%)
- Food industry waste, animal fodder: -$1.29 billion (Up by 11.3%)
- Pharmaceuticals: -$1.25 billion (Up by 8.2%)
- Plastics, plastic articles: -$1.16 billion (Up by 13.4%)
- Iron, steel: -$904.5 million (Up by 34.2%)
- Other chemical goods: -$725.4 million (Up by 15.6%)
- Cereals: -$688.7 million (Up by 26.1%)
- Optical, technical, medical apparatus: -$623.2 million (Up by 10.8%)
Ecuador has highly negative net exports and therefore deep international trade deficits for machinery, notably for computers.
These cashflow deficiencies clearly indicate Ecuador’s competitive disadvantages in the international machinery market, but also represent key opportunities for Ecuador to improve its position in the global economy through focused innovations.
Ecuadorean Export Companies
Not one Ecuadorean corporation ranks among Forbes Global 2000.
Wikipedia does list some exporters from Ecuador. Selected examples are shown below.
- Corporación Nacional de Telecomunicaciones–CNT EP (telecommunications)
- Marathon Sports (sport equipment)
- Ecua-Andino Hats (panama hats)
- Tiendas Industriales Asociadas S.A.–Tía S.A. (discount retailer)
- TAME EP Linea Aerea del Ecuador (airliner)
- Zhumir Latin Spirit (liquor)
In macroeconomic terms, Ecuador’s total exported goods represent 12.4% of its overall Gross Domestic Product for 2025 ($300.1 billion valued in Purchasing Power Parity US dollars). That 12.4% of exports to overall GDP in PPP for 2025 compares to 11.6% for 2024. Those percentages suggest an increasing reliance on products sold on international markets for Ecuador’s total economic performance, albeit based on a short timeframe.
Another key indicator of a country’s economic performance is its unemployment rate. Ecuador’s unemployment rate averaged 4% for 2025, up from an average 3.38% in 2024 according to International Monetary Fund statistics.
Ecuador’s capital city is Quito.
See also Ecuador’s Top Trading Partners, Ecuador’s Top 10 Imports, Colombia’s Top Trading Partners, Chile’s Top Trading Partners and Argentina’s Top Trading Partners
Research Sources:
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook South America: Ecuador. Accessed on April 16, 2026
Forbes Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on April 16, 2026
International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook Database (GDP based on Purchasing Power Parity). Accessed on April 16, 2026
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on April 16, 2026
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on April 16, 2026
Wikipedia, Ecuador. Accessed on April 16, 2026
Wikipedia, Gross domestic product. Accessed on April 16, 2026
Wikipedia, List of Companies of Ecuador. Accessed on April 16, 2026
Wikipedia, Purchasing power parity. Accessed on April 16, 2026