Daily coverage from across the country, written for the expat community
Results for “employment”Clear
Lonely Planet's Best in Travel 2026 features horseback riding among Ecuador's chagra cowboys near Volcán Cotopaxi as one of 25 must-do experiences worldwide. The recognition comes as tourism numbers approach pre-pandemic levels and Cuenca rents climb 20% in central neighborhoods.
Ecuador’s largest gold mine exported a record $1.8 billion in 2025 — a 51% jump from the prior year — as gold prices topped $5,000 per ounce for the first time. Lundin Gold just announced $100 million in new exploration spending and discovered a fifth copper-gold deposit, signaling the mining boom is just getting started.
Ecuador's tax authority is sending notifications to taxpayers with unfiled income tax declarations from previous years — some going back to 2019. Recipients have just 10 business days to respond, and the SRI's seven-year review window means old oversights can surface without warning.
International cacao prices have collapsed from a record $13,000 per ton in late 2024 to $3,581 in February 2026. Ecuadorian farmers now receive roughly $130 per quintal — down from $400 a year ago — squeezing margins in communities across the coast.
Fedexpor reports Ecuador’s non-petroleum, non-mining exports grew 16% to $25.2 billion in 2025. Shrimp led at $8.4 billion (+20%), cocoa surged 29% to $4.7 billion, and U.S.-bound exports jumped 30%. It’s the strongest diversification signal yet for the dollarized economy.
LATAM Cargo and Avianca transported over 40,000 tons of roses from Ecuador for Valentine’s Day 2026 — the country’s biggest annual flower export event. Ecuador is the world’s third-largest flower exporter, and February is the industry’s Super Bowl.
Hundreds of rice producers from Guayas and Los Ríos met in Santa Lucía to deliver a manifesto demanding the government enforce minimum price floors and address what they call the worst crisis in three decades. Over 500,000 jobs and $100 million in losses hang in the balance.
Municipal employees across at least 15 cantons in Loja province are owed between two and four months of back pay. The crisis affects services in the Vilcabamba valley, where road maintenance and building permits are delayed.
President Noboa used the World Government Summit in Dubai to court international investment, pledging $600 million for infrastructure and signing an anti-corruption agreement with the UAE.
Ecuador's Ministry of Foreign Relations announced the country's first-ever H-2A agricultural visa placements, sending 150 workers to Florida farms this month.
