As Colombia is gearing up for its second seasonal avocado harvest, from October to March, the packer and exporter, Montana Fruits, is ramping up production to meet an increasing global demand.
According to Natalia Moranth, co-owner of Montana Fruits: “New markets are opening their doors to Colombian avocados and other fruit thanks to an increase in global demand. Our key market is Europe, the US market is also up-and-coming. We see opportunities throughout Asia and South America.”
Besides packing and exporting avocados, Montana Fruits have year-round production of passion fruit and a new addition namely Tahiti limes.
“Currently, we have the installed capacity to process 12 containers of Hass avocado a week. Still, we are happy to announce that starting November, our capacity will grow to 20 containers per week. The Hass avocado has two important seasons, from October to March and a second from May to August. As for passion fruit and lime, we have year-round production. We can process two containers of passion fruit and from four to five containers of limes a week. With this expansion, we expect to continue to grow with exports via the ports of Rotterdam, Hamburg and Algeciras in Spain.”
“The US market is also up-and-coming because we have a competitive advantage to supply the East Coast, since it only takes three days to Miami and five days to Philadelphia. In our packing house, we are qualified to export to Chile, Argentina, South Korea, Japan and China. We want to reach the Chilean market, which has a great potential due to its internal consumption. Our key market is Europe, where the price of the Hass avocado, Passion Fruit and Lime depends on the spot market, which changes with the supply and demand. As I already mentioned, the US market is also very important, we really want to focus this season,” explains Moranth.
Montana Fruits, holds a range of industry standards and certifications that include Global GAP, Chain of custody, SMETA, Rain Forest and BRC. They work on a three tiered system of Colombian producers who are suppliers to their pack house.
“They are more than suppliers, they are our allies. We have three types of growers, gold, silver, and bronze depending on their volumes per season. The gold-level producers represent 59% of our volume and have large-scale production. The silver represents 36% of our export, and the bronze level participates only 5%. We have chosen our growers because of their quality and because we are looking for a long relationship where we can trust.”
This will be the first year that they will attend the Global Produce Show in Orlando, Florida later next month. They also have their sights set on attending Fruit Attraction in Madrid earlier next month.
“We will attend both events; we consider it essential to have a presence at international shows, where we can talk to clients and competitors. It is about maintaining a close relationship with our clients who are so far away. This is our first time visiting Global Produce Orlando; we are excited to see all the opportunities the US market offers in Hass avocado and limes.”
Moranth explains their reasons for participating in the trade shows: “Firstly, to meet and close deals for our new campaigns, see all the innovative processes in the field, and offer our packaging solutions to our customers. We hope to stand out with all our investments in traceability using block chain and with our international certifications. Going to these events is much more than just meeting new people; we have a lot of on-site visits planned to see the US operations first hand.”
For more information:
Natalia Moranth
Montana Fruits
Tel: +57 310 415 5184
Email: nmoranth@montanafruits.com.co
www.montanafruits.com