The Hass avocado is known as 'green gold' due to its high international demand and its growing numbers of buyers. The potential for this product in the international market is very large and Colombian authorities are well aware of it.
In fact, the Ministry of Agriculture and the Colombian Agricultural Institute (ICA) have been working for a some years to ensure that this fruit has access to more and more countries. The most recent was Argentina and, the most important, is the United States. However, they are still working to open six new destinations for this product.
According to the ICA, Colombian producers already can export their hass avocado to 14 markets. The six markets they are working to open are large countries with a high consumption of this product: Mexico, Chile, South Korea, Japan, China, and Cuba. With them, there would be 20 destinations for the fruit.
The momentum of the most recent approvals is evident in the sales figures to the world. According to the Ministry of Commerce, between 2015 and 2017, avocado exports increased by 413%, going from US $10.3 million, up to US $52.9 million.
So far in 2017, the trend has continued to grow. In the first quarter, Hass avocado exports amounted to US $22.8 million, i.e. 130% more than in the same period last year.
Javier Diaz, the president of Analdex, said that "the main market is the United States and our production goes mainly to Europe. We have a traditional market and a promising one, but one has to understand that it has cycles."
Currently, the fruit is being paid at US $4 in Europe, but less than a month ago it was at US $16, so "you have to have other markets to diversify. The region matters, and we're also waiting to export to China, even though this hasn't been formalized," said Diaz.
Regarding the growth in demand for Colombian avocados, exporters should also pay attention to the country's ability to fulfil orders.
Source: larepublica.co