Colombian Avocado Exports Grow

Colombian avocado exports grew 37.6% during the first half of this year compared to the same period of 2018, which meant sales of 52.9 million dollars, official sources reported Friday.

ProColombia, an entity responsible for promoting tourism, foreign investment, non-mining and energy exports and the image of the country, said in a statement that the main destinations were the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Spain and Belgium.

In the latter country, exports jumped 143.5%, reaching sales of more than five million dollars.

The president of ProColombia, Flavia Santoro, celebrated the "significant increase" in avocado sales and highlighted the departments of Antioquia, Risaralda, Valle del Cauca and Caldas for being "protagonists" and knowing "take advantage of the markets with which we have commercial agreements in force ".

Between January and June of this year, Antioquia led sales by reaching $ 27 million, with a growth of 20.7%; followed by Risaralda, with 17.5 million dollars (88.6%), and Valle del Cauca, with 3.8 million dollars (0.2%).

Similarly, Bogotá reached exports of 2.6 million dollars (82.6%) in the same period, while Caldas reached 470.505 dollars (605%).

Santoro added that global consumption increases by 3%, so he considers there is a space "to grow in sales to the United States", the main importer of the market with a 41% share.

To this country is added the European Union, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Singapore.

"We are waiting for admissibility in China and South Korea, while thanks to the government's health diplomacy strategy, we have already opened the doors in the Japanese market," added the president of ProColombia.

To reach these figures, a key point has been foreign investment in the Colombian countryside, as the country has a potential of 200,000 hectares to grow avocado, according to the entity.

"Cultivation that arouses the interest of national entrepreneurs and investors in the world who find a profitable and competitive location in the country, as well as an export platform to reach third markets," ProColombia said in the statement.

As an example, the entity mentioned that the American Greenfruit Avocado will invest in approximately 300 hectares to plant avocado in the towns of Trujillo and Bolívar in the department of Valle del Cauca.

Similarly, the Peruvian Camposol aims to produce about 40,000 tons of avocado in Colombia by 2025.

"To these companies are also added Rans Korea, which made an investment close to one million dollars in 2017, for the opening of an office in Bogotá and the acquisition of a steam engine to process export pitahaya, guaranteeing the access of the fruit to the Korean and Japanese market, "he concluded.