The businessmen from the Valle del Cauca invested heavily in machinery and in the latest technology equipment for growing fruits like pineapple in the region.
The investment will be used to improve the pineapple for export's harvesting, transporting and postharvest processes.
The agricultural growth and expansion of land devoted to growing fruit has led companies, such as Bengala Agricola, to invest in pineapple cultivation in the Valle del Cauca and to achieve very promising production indicators and, in some cases, to replace sugarcane crops with pineapple crops.
The investment in technology was done to improve irrigation systems, tailor soils and make a rational use of chemicals so the fruits have a better smell, colour and taste.
The Valle del Cauca is working to become the leading horticultural exporter of Colombia because it has the ideal climate, soil, access to ports and, due to its location, can take advantage of trade agreements, especially the Pacific Alliance.
Among the most promising crops, which are booming in the Valle del Cauca, are the papaya, pineapple, melon, passion fruit, mango, banana, strawberries, mandarin, tangelo orange and lime.
Although the Valle del Cauca is one of the departments that export few fruits (about USD $8 million in 2013), it has the greatest potential in the country.