Colombian exports of Hass avocado to the United States will begin in the first half of 2014, after meeting the phytosanitary required by that market.
The Minister of Agriculture Francisco Estupiñán, confirmed it by detailing that the production of Hass avocado for that year is estimated at 27,000 tonnes and is expected to increase to 62,000 in 2016.
"We aspire to place at least 20% of that total in the US market, taking advantage of the Free Trade."
The Minister of agriculture noted that as part of the inauguration of a modern packing plant for citrus and Hass avocado, people must put aside their regrets about signing the trade agreement, and work harder to create open markets.
In this regard, the General Manager of the ICA, Teresita Beltran Ospina, said: "This plant is very important for the Colombian agricultural trade since the Hass avocado is one of the prioritized products in Colombian exports, mainly to the United States, a country with which the Institute is working hard to ensure the admissibility of this product. "
In addition, the infrastructure of this plant "was one of the pressing needs that the region had to solve to access global markets, such as the American one, as it is essential that the export sector transitions from the traditional collection centres to world-class packing plants that meet phytosanitary requirements, as well as good manufacturing practices and all the requirements, as in this case, to get the GlobalGAP certification that would put it at the same level as the world's major exporters such as Mexico, Chile and Peru, "Ospina said.
With this packing plant, the region continues to consolidate itself as an agro-export node specialized in tropical fruits, explained ICA's General Manager.
Among other features, the plant, which has the capacity to process three containers a week, has an automated selection band for 7.5 tons of fruit per hour, meeting the specifications of cold chains in two tunnels built with the latest generation of materials.
Source: Elnuevosiglo.com.co