Colombia presents international campaign to promote agricultural products

Juliana Villegas, ProColombia's Vice President of Exports, presented the Colombian Foods last week at the Fruit Logistica fair in Berlin. "The agricultural industry is one of the great economic pillars of the country in this stage of the peace consolidation. Colombia, which is the most biodiverse country in the world per square kilometre and has a climate that allows its producers to sow crops 365 days a year, has rich soils for sowing, large areas of land, and wants to promote the sector that already accounts for 50% of the country's non-mining energy exports, internationally," stated Villegas at a panel inaugurated by the Ambassador of Colombia in Germany, Maria Elvira Pombo. In turn, the Ambassador emphasized "the great variety, competitiveness, and sustainability of the Colombian offer, which is capable of satisfying international buyers regarding environmental care."

ProColombia set up a striking stand for the 15 companies that will participate as exhibitors at the fair: Frutireyes, Huertos Verdes, Avocate, Native Produce, Pacific Fruits, Hass Colombia, Bengal Agrícola, DML Sugar, Aprocol, Tropic Kit, Andes Export, CI Dorado, Caribbean, La Corsaria SAS, and CI UNIBAN SA, which will be promoting different products such as granadilla, lulo, guavasteen, Tahiti lime, cape gooseberries, gulupa, or avocado.

Luis Felipe Bocanegra, the CEO of Aprocol, stated that participating in the Fruit Logistica was very important. "Going out into the world has a direct impact on the quality of life. It provides a real, strong, and effective project that allows ensuring the following generations' future." According to Francina Hernandez, a representative of La Corsaria, attending the fair with ProColombia is key: "This is the fourth year that we have come and I think this is the way to do it, with the accompaniment of Procolombia, which has always been very good. Our herbs are of a superb quality, compared to that of our European competitors: ours have more flavor, more color, and more aroma."

Colombia already exports its fresh fruits to 44 countries. The top 5 destinations are: The Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Spain, Germany, and the United States. Among the main exports of this segment are the Tahiti lime, which increased by 70% from January to November 2016 to the same period of 2017, avocado, which increased by 45%, and cape gooseberries, which increased by 20%.

The Colombian countryside is one of the great beneficiaries of the commercial agreement with the European Union. Colombian exports of agricultural products registered a 5.5% annual growth between 2006 and 2016. In 2006 Colombia exported USD 930.7 million (1.3 million tons) in agricultural products. In 2016 it's exports amounted to USD 1,593 million, equivalent to 1.8 million tons. In addition, thanks to the FTA, Colombia's agricultural product exporting business sector almost doubled, going from about 140 companies in 2006 to 230 in 2016.

The campaign will have four promotional videos: one about the country's general agricultural offer and three about specific products, such as cocoa, fruit, trout, and tilapia. The videos highlight the extensive experience and knowledge of Colombian farmers, their families, the country's abundant water sources, its soils of volcanic origin, and its fruits' origin and variety.