The Colombian banana sector has promoted the development of Colombia and its regions for decades by generating employment and foreign exchange, as 70% of the country's banana production is destined for export, stated the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Aurelio Iragorri Valencia, in a meeting convened by Augura in Santa Marta.
The head of the agricultural portfolio said that, even though the banana industry had faced various obstacles (such as the revaluation of the peso and the changes in the international market) the sector had managed to remain one of the major agricultural exporters in Colombia, because of the government's Colombia Siembra policy.
Minister Iragorri said, these temporary circumstances had decreased the industry's competitiveness and jeopardized the crops' sustainability in the country's producing regions. As a result, the challenge for the sector is to improve its productivity.
The main banana producing areas in Colombia are planted Antioquia (Apartado, Turbo, and Chigorodó) with 37,100 hectares and a production of 1,275,091 tons; Guajira (Riohacha and Dibulla) with 2,096 hectares and a production of 74,988 tons, and Magdalena (Zona Bananera, El Reten) with 11,044 hectares and a production of 395,161 tons.
According to forecasts, by the end of 2016, the country will have nearly 83,950 hectares devoted to this crop and a production of 2,119,737 tons.
The head of the agricultural portfolio reiterated, in the VI Banana Technical Meeting in Santa Marta, the Government's determination to continue working together with the Colombian banana growers to meet the sector's challenges.
The Techinical Meeting was attended by major exhibitors at the national and international level and the participants had access to a wide range of technical information for the development of the banana industry.
The head of the agricultural portfolio said that the sector had exported 1,684,148.13 tons of bananas in 2015. The main destinations were the United States, France, Italy, UK, Switzerland, Germany, Spain, the Netherlands and Belgium, among others.
Most of the world's banana production is in Asian countries. Colombia accounts for 2% of the world production. Bananas are one of the country's main export products and generates the most revenue.
Source: radiosantafe.com