The Colombian fruit export sector had a good 2016. Bananas, avocados, and pineapples penetrated new markets in Europe and increased their destinations by 12, totaling 31 buyer countries.
Juan Camilo Velasquez, the sales manager of Maersk Line Colombia, stated in an interview with El Espectador that the growth in exports of bananas in refrigerated containers, which went from having a 10% market share in 2015 to 25% in 2016, had been key to the sector.
The bananas were the star of this increase because they are no longer being transported in ships with refrigerated storage rooms and are now being transported in container ships that are more competitive due to their efficiency and low costs.
"Our fruit found new destinations because of that change in transportion. The previous ships had go to big ripening centers in Europe, such as Antwerp, from where the fruit was distributed to other destinations, "said Velasquez regarding the advantages that allow the country to better compete with established countries, such as Ecuador and Costa Rica.
Last year, the country started selling bananas to a large group of markets. Maersk alone shipped 500 containers each week. Given the high volumes being shipped, the fruit is attractive to shipping companies. "Having established routes with refrigerated containers opens the way to ship other products. That is the case of Hass avocado, and pineapple, which are nascent industries in Colombia," said the local executive.
The avocado boom started five years ago when Colombia started planting it, three years later the country began exporting it to Europe in containers. The pineapple growth was explosive. The country went from exporting 20 containers in 2015 to 400 containers last year.
Containerized cargo achieved a positive result in 2016. Velasquez said Colombia had had an overall increase of 4.6%, 9% in exports and 2.4% in imports.
In 2017, he said, banana exports will continue to grow with new sales to Philadelphia and the East Coast of the United States. Avocado exports will also continue to increase and "it looks like a good year for the coffee sector. In addition, much of the uncertainty there was last year due to the tax reform and the peace process is already over," said Velasquez.
Velasquez estimated there would be a 3 to 4% increase of foreign trade in containers.
Source: mundomaritimo.cl