Ecuador for Investors – Page 19 – The Ecuador Insider

pH setback with land in Ecuador

"I've never seen a pH like this." The part-time Stevia specialist said to me looking over the results of my soil analysis.

The pH is over 8. That's very alkaline. Too high for a plant like Stevia. The plant would grow but not produce as much as it should, he continued.

The ideal, and what most soil has in Ecuador is around 6.8-7 which is a neutral soil that plants can thrive in.

Now, there is a way to correct the pH in the lot, by injecting about a ton of sulfur, which would cost me around $500. But there's no guarantee that would fully correct the problem.

So for now, another option I think I'll go with is another crop that is a bit more resistant to the pH.

But I jumped the gun, live and learn I guess, and have already put a deposit down on the Stevia plants.

I'm still VERY interested in Stevia, but now I have a bunch of plants due out the nursery and no where t put them.

40,000 of them to be exact, at 30 cents each. You can fit them all comfortably on about 8,000 meters of land.

In Ecuador they grow best under 2400 meters in altitude and if there is a daily or semi-daily water source.

And now I need to find a new home for them, aka, another lot to plant them or someone who would like to buy them? I paid 30 cents each, could offer a nice discount depending on how many you buy, just trying to recoup my money here.

So, learn from my mistake, wait for the soil analysis to come back before making decisions on which land to buy (or lease) and which crops to grow!

Any takers on the perfectly healthy, ready to produce and live 6 years Stevia plants?

They produce every three months and I already have a buyer in Quito lined up. Please refer to this link for the specific production expectancies, https://63s.e69.myftpupload.com/stevia-ecuador/ .

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How much do farms cost in Ecuador?

Good question.

Sometimes in Ecuador it seems like the people actually selling their farm have no idea how much to ask as prices are all across the board. Asking prices can be particularly high once a crop is already producing.

But you can find a lot of farms for sale for under $1000 per hectare (2.2 acres).

But when you inquire further or actually visit the farm you realize why they are so cheap.

No road access.

Or very poor access in that you literally have to travel for a while on rough dirt road that will often get washed out during the rainy season. Even still, some farms will force you to park and walk because they can not be reached by car.

On the flip side, farms near a major highway (say within 15 minutes of driving) yet down an unpaved side road reachable by car usually go around $3-6000 per hectare.

While farms with direct highway access usually ask around $5-8000 per hectare.

Next up, water.

Does the farm have a river or two on or bordering the premise? If it does, it´s worth something, if not forget about it as "well water" might suffice for building a residence on a property but not for actually growing crops.

Following that, overall remoteness, electricity, cell phone coverage and more play into it… Like, how close is the farm to the nearest town where you can actually find workers and take your crops to market? Important, indeed.

For instance, this week, I was in the Santo Domingo area, about half way in between Quito and the coast in the coastal plain lowland region of Ecuador, and through a friend I found one interesting buy.

A 16 hectare farm with direct highway access and several small rivers in a green, rainy area, electricity and minutes from a large town asking $60,000. That´s just over $3500 per hectare.

The owners inherited the property and have no interest in it and just want to liquidate.

In my experience, this is a good deal, having direct highway access gives you a lot of options like possibly building a restaurant (paradero) or guesthouse down the line.

The area has a sub-tropical, mild, yet humid climate due to the median altitude of 950 meters (3100 feet).

Many both cold and warm weather crops can grow here like sugar cane, citrus fruits, Cocoa, Stevia or more local varieties with local demand like Naranjilla, Palmito and Borojo. Also, coffee is a possibility.

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Which Ecuador residency visa option is best for you?

My brother is married to a Thai woman.

Even still, when they go to live over there for part of the year, he still has to do "border runs" every month or so. Even for him, residency is complicated!

Other countries, like the Philippines, or Colombia don´t force you to leave the country but every month or so you have to keep paying and paying to renew your tourist visa.

Ecuador is not like that.

Ecuador is one of THE EASIEST countries in the world to get residency, no doubt about it. And after three years of legal residency you could apply and get a South American second passport which opens up the whole continent to you making it much easier for you to live in Colombia, Peru, Brazil or any of the other countries down here.

But which visa is the LEAST hassle for you?

Got a pension or disability income of at least $800 a month? Or $900 if you want to bring a spouse? Go for the 9-1 Rentista (Pensioners) visa. This is the most hassle-free visa there is if you qualify.

Don´t have a pension or steady income for life you can prove?

You could go for the 9-II Investors visa by investing at least $25,000 USD in a real property or a CD in a bank in Ecuador. A mere pittance compared to the $500,000 USD the USA requires as investment to gain residency there. Even other latin countries like Panama and Costa Rica require a much larger investment.

But what if you don´t have or don´t want to put $25,000 down?

No problem, go for the visa I´m on, and the one that opens Ecuador wide open to young people with no pensions… the 9-V Profesional visa. All you need is a four year degree from a university on their long list of accredited universities. Then you need to get that degree vaidated by the Ecuadoran Institute of Higher Education, the SENESCYT, and apply, that´s it, you´re in! And if your university is not on the list, no problem, you can still apply, but you just have to do an extra step to get your university put on the list. No other country I know of has this visa option for literally ANY career type!

What if you have no degree?

I didn´t know this until I talked to an expert on the subject while preparing my Guide to Ecuador Residency due to be released in about a week, but you could also apply for the 9-III Investor in a personal business visa. For this visa, you have to show investment in a business located in Ecuador in the "exporting, or industry or agriculture fields".

You place a value on all the inventory in the business equalling at least $30,000 USD. Like my "$3000" lap top I´m writing on now. Oh yea, and my "$20,000" car. This could include your home office. A bit more complicated, sure, but it´s covered in my guide and the experts recommended therein could help you see it through. Tough to do this one on your own but It´s an option if you don´t qualify for any of the other above visas.

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How 1 Expat Got Nailed For $1800 Bringing Their Pet To Ecuador

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"$1800?" I gasped.

"Yea, $1800," the guest at my hotel in Quito near the airport continued a few days ago in October of 2015, explaining how he just spent $1800 just in taxes and fees paid to the government to bring his dog to Ecuador.

This is excluding what he paid to ship the dog here.

And excluding what he paid a translator/facilitator to help him with the process.

So, actually, he spent a lot more.

What was the problem and more specifically, how can you avoid spending this kind of money?

He wrongly brought the dog down over 20 days after he had arrived to Ecuador.

Big mistake!

In Ecuador, they consider that an import, with steep taxes incurred to boot.

While if you bring the pet down with you it's considered a personal item of the traveler. And if its small enough to carry on, it walks right out with you, no extra fees or taxes, provided you have all the necessary paperwork from the vet and Ecuador consulate.

Or you could send it as BAGGAGE which drops it right out on the carosel. Or if its too big you can send it as cargo meaning you'd have to pick it up the next day paying a few nominal fees and showing your boarding pass in a few different offices all near the airport.

What happened to this guy is United didn't let his dog board the plane when he went to fly, if this happens to you, simply don't come until you can travel with your pet to avoid these elevated taxes.

I've found United to be VERY picky about letting pets board whereas American and Delta and other carriers are not so problematic.

He didn't know.

Now you do!

And to avoid overspending on a resident visa in Ecuador, it's actually a surprising easy and cheap process if done right…

Try my pre-release of the long-awaited updated for 2015 DIY Insiders Guide to Ecuador Resident Visas.

Ideal for anyone considering Ecuador as a living destination. Simplify an otherwise complicated process and learn how you, a foreigner to Ecuador, can become a permanent legal resident within just a few short weeks saving thousands on legal fees and the headaches along the way.

With this info no costly lawyer is necessary! You can do it yourself or with a friend that speaks Spanish.

Now, until midnight, OCT 31order the guide for half-price, now just $24.95, after released, it will be $49.95!

Hasta pronto, and thanks to everyone who bought my 2015 Insiders Guide to Random Importing to Ecuador, it has now been taken offline completely so those that bought can take full advantage of the info.

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3 exotic Ecuador fruits with big-time export potential

“Damn, that’s good.” I remember thinking when I first tried it upon arriving to Ecuador.

“Really good.”

It was sweet and sour at the same time and really refreshing. And not like any other fruit flavor I had ever tried in North America, Asia or Europe.

1. The “Naranjilla”. Or “Lulo” as they say in nearby Colombia. I don’t think there is even an English word for this fruit like most of these things in Ecuador that don’t exist in North America or Europe.

It grows in the rainy foothills of the Andes and along the edges of the Amazon and are not eaten raw but made into juice by the locals.

It has HUGE local demand, but I think could also be exported.

It’s true, like a lot of fruits, they might not make it to their destination without spoiling or getting bruised up.

But that doesn’t mean you can’t export it!

What about as a canned jam, or as a frozen pulp for juice mixes, or even dried fruit?

The possibilities are endless.

Here are two other fruits I think could have a BIG impact abroad if exported widely. See pics at the bottom of this email of all three.

2. “Tomate de arbol” or Tree tomato, this fruit doesn’t actually taste like tomatos at all and looks like a mini-nerf American football. They are not eaten raw but made into juice here by Ecuadorians. The taste is unique, truly indescribable. This fruit is grown in the highlands near the big cities like Quito and Cuenca.

3. The “Ovo”. Many ecuadorians don’t even know about this one. There is only ONE PLACE in all of Ecuadorwhere this fruit is grown, in the dry Chota Valley north of Ibarra. They are sold usually along the highway that passes through the valley on the way to Colombia and every time I pass I get some. They look similar to the coastal variety called “Ciruelas” but the taste is completely different. The Ovo when ripe is bright orange and sweet with a seed inside like a grape. The taste is unique and delicious. On the other hand, the Ciruela on the coast is sold green or red and is bitter and often eaten by locals with salt. The Ovo is the one I think has BIGexport potential.

Of course, Ecuador has MANY more fruits with big export potential but these were the first three that came to mind.

At the very least on your next trip to Ecuador be SURE you try these three fruits as juice or in their native form.

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naranjilla-ecuador — naranjilla in ecuador

tomate-de-arbol-ecuador — tomate-de-arbol in ecuador

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