Breaking news, politics, economy, visas, safety, and lifestyle updates for expats living in Ecuador.
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 annual inflation rate hit a 20-month high in January 2026, driven almost entirely by a 20.79% spike in housing and utility costs after the government ended electricity and diesel subsidies. Food prices are rising too — plantains have roughly doubled, and the basic family basket now costs $822 a month.
Washington and Quito have 'substantially concluded' negotiations on a reciprocal trade agreement set to be signed in coming weeks. But Ecuador's biggest non-oil export to the U.S. — shrimp worth $2 billion a year — may not get the tariff relief the industry needs to survive.
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.
An international arbitral tribunal adjusted Ecuador's compensation obligation to Chevron downward by $5.7 million, landing at $215 million. The decades-old Amazon environmental dispute continues to drain government coffers in a tight fiscal year.
During President Noboa's visit to the UAE, Petroecuador and Abu Dhabi National Oil Company signed a memorandum of understanding for direct crude oil trade and refined product imports — cutting out intermediary traders.
The U.S. dollar has lost ground against major currencies, creating a mixed bag for Ecuador's dollarized economy: exports become more competitive and tourism gets a boost, but import costs rise — and you'll feel it at the supermarket.
Ecuador's coast just got a significant internet upgrade. Seven 5G radio base stations are now operational in Manta, making it one of the first mid-sized cities outside Quito and Guayaquil to join the national 5G rollout.
What started as a tariff dispute has spiraled into a full trade war between neighbors. Ecuador slapped 30% duties on Colombian imports; Colombia responded by suspending electricity sales and threatening counter-tariffs on 23 Ecuadorian products. The pipeline tariff jumped from $3 to $30 per barrel.
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.
Ecuador’s monthly fuel price band adjusted at midnight. Extra and Ecopaís gasoline rose to $2.76/gallon, Súper Premium dropped to $3.19, and diesel barely moved at $2.70. The new prices hold through March 11.
