In a press release issued by Expoflores, October 10, 2019, it declares the company in a state of emergency after the violent taking of floral farms in Ecuador.
Here is the press release, as translated by WildFlower.Media:
The National Association of Producers and Operators of Flowers of Ecuador (Expoflores) declared today a state of emergency in the face of the progressive violent takeover of farms, and the physical aggression against the associated workers.
Expoflores executive president Alejandro Martinez explained that the situation reached unsustainable levels, today October 10, because aggression against farms and violent attacks on workers who attend work have increased, especially towards women.
“With this level of losses and the impossibility of resuming normal working hours as well as the mobilization of inputs and flowers, the sector is in emergency today. If activities are not resumed, around 20 thousand tons of flowers will be lost. There is (already) more than $250 million dollars in losses, “Martinez explained.
According to the Martinez, the sector has already recorded a loss of almost $30 million, which strongly affects more than 300 thousand families working in floriculture.
“We have received official letters from leaders and zone groupings that expressly threaten the companies and their workers if they continue their daily work. The roads have been blocked with tractors, and seedlings are (being) carried outside the farms that prevent the daily work,” Martinez explained.
Likewise, Martinez denounced the unusually violent attacks on the buildings by hooded youths who are destroying crops and beating workers, including women.
More than 5,000 hectares of plantations are affected in the country.
