"Colombia: "Small and medium producers to export fruit directly"

Colombia has been one the fastest growing South American exporting economies in recent years. However, despite its productive potential, the country hasn't completely developed its export potential, mainly because of logistical obstacles. Juan Felipe Gaviria Arevalo, of Frutales Las Lajas, spoke about the issue: "Most producers are farmers with a couple of hectares that don't have experience in marketing their products abroad, and that don't have the resources to purchase machinery for the packaging and selection processes."

"Colombia doesn't have an export culture. Many producers who dared to export their products had a bad experience because they didn't know the management and export processes, so they have eventually opted to stay in the local market. However, domestic prices can be 10 times lower than on European or Asian markets, so producers are losing many opportunities. This makes it complicated for them to get out of this cycle and improve their living conditions," said Gaviria.

In recent years the government and producer associations have created initiatives so that producers can start exporting. The goal is to provide farmers with assistance throughout the export process so that they can receive a fair price for their products. Joining this purpose, Frutales Las Lajas will be inaugurating a processing and packing plant in January 2017, which will allow producers to export their products directly.

"One of the goals of this new plant is to provide small, medium and large producers with the opportunity to export their products without intermediaries, so they can achieve higher profits. We offer packaging and consultancy services at an affordable price, so they don't have to purchase these expensive machines themselves, or apply for bank loans. They can sell their fruit under their own brand and offer a personalized service to their customers," the representative said.

"Our goal is to process fruit from producers from all across the country in our plant. If producers wish, we can buy their fruit and we'll market it ourselves. We have two packing and selection lines. One of them is specialized in avocados and has the ability to pack an average of 37 tons per hour and has a cooling capacity for 40 containers. The second line will be for a product we are promoting, the Tahiti sour lemon. With these new additions, Frutales Las Lajas will have the largest and most advanced plant in Colombia, thus generating more jobs. We are the second biggest job generating company in the region, so our social work is very important for us," concluded the spokesman of Frutales Las Lajas.

For more information:

Juan Felipe Gavidia Arévalo
Frutales Las Lajas
T: + 57 311 3298731
E: gerencia2@frutaleslaslajas.com
www.frutaleslaslajas.com