Quindio is the Colombian department that exports the most Hass avocado to the United States, as it ships out 80% of its production to that destination, stated Diego Fernando Aristizabal, the president of the National Federation of Avocado Producers and the Association of Producers from Quindio.
He also said that the El Escobal farm in Cocora had exported 6 containers of avocado to the United States this season, out of the 8.5 containers that Colombia has sold to that country, even though exporting to the US is very complex due to phytosanitary protocols and the demands of the authorities.
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Quindio has nearly 1,500 hectares of avocados and there are 1,200 more projects.
Foreign businessmen, from Mexico and Peru, have come to the country to buy land in Quindio to be able to cover the demand of their buyers throughout the whole year, as the avocado harvest that will last until December starts in fifteen days and the next one goes from March to June.
The trade union leader called on the municipal administrations that are delivering seeds of 50 or 60 trees and promoting small producers, which harms farmers who do not have the economic capacity to grow these plants with the required treatments and are forced to sell their products in the domestic market at a very low cost, so that they improve this situation.
There are 120 producers of Hass avocado in Quindio that have nearly 1,500 hectares devoted to this product. Last year, they exported 75 containers of this product, each worth $80 million.
He also said they paid special attention to the use of agrochemicals in the crops, and that they monitored the plantations and only applied agrochemicals where there were infestations of pests and diseases to avoid making indiscriminate applications, respecting environmental norms to control quarantine pests that can be controlled manually and through cultural management.
Source: elquindiano.com