Colombian avocado exports on the rise
Published on 08 July 2019
Colombian farmers are positioned as one of the main suppliers of avocado globally thanks to the recent introduction of new plantations.
The diversification of portfolios is essential to ensure the progress of a country. Product booms can be temporary, either due to the development of large productive matrices in other countries that managed to develop competitive advantages, or due to the obsolescence of a product.
In this sense, it is healthy for agricultural entrepreneurs to have developed the production of avocados in Colombia. Currently, Colombian exports depend mainly on coal, oil, coffee, flowers and gold. After coffee, bananas and sugar, avocado is the fourth most important agricultural product for human consumption exported by Colombia, despite being a recent addition to the country's export matrix.
Avocado cultivation has been a decade of development as an option for Colombian farmers. And, taking into account the five years it takes a beat to reach full production, the export figures are recent. In 2013, US $ 1.2 million was generated for shipments of this fruit abroad, while in 2014, this figure rose to US $ 3.6 million, continuing to reach a takeoff of US $ 35 million in 2016. A From that moment on, Colombian production has reached a considerable level, and it is already the fourth largest in the world, after those of Mexico, Peru and Puerto Rico.
A factor that has facilitated the promotion of production in Colombia is the pacification of the areas that were taken or threatened by the FARC. In 2018, the variety crops in export avocado hass would have exceeded 15,000 hectares, which implied a growth of 15% compared to 2018, while in terms of production would have advanced more than 20% by the entry into production full of new plantations.
Now, the biggest challenge for Colombian producers is in the opening of the US market due to their sanitary demands. For this reason, Europe is the main destination, but this situation could easily be reversed if more farms are authorized to send their production to the United States.
In general terms, the growth of avocado exports is a clear sign of progress for the country. It is not only an economic issue, but a social one, by allowing farmers who were previously engaged in other crops to take advantage of the conditions of the Colombian geography to reach the international market.
If you continue working on the sanitary and protocol aspect, international consumers will soon be able to find more Colombian avocados on the shelves of supermarkets in their countries.