Avocado: From Colombia to the world
To place in the European market 100 containers (600 tons) of fruits like Hass avocado is the first stage for the Antioquia Government. Through the Secretary of Agriculture, they want to consolidate the exporting process in the department.
According to the secretary of this dependency, Diego Miguel Sierra, Antioquia has quite good possibilities to grow the Hass avocado cultivation for export.
Miguel Sierra also explained that the project is to follow-up avocado producers. It's estimated 6,000 new hectares in the department today, harvested in the last 8 years.
The intention is that all participants in the productive chain improve their productive and competitive conditions.
He affirms that there were quite important losses of trees in the field due to several reasons: no certifications by the owners; avocado is quite sensitive to humidity and antracnosis (a fungus that eats the roots), for which there is no effective cure and high costs.
Presently Colombia produces 5,500 hectares of hass avocado. 2,300 are in Antioquia (El Retiro, La Ceja, Guarne, San Vicente, Rionegro, Marinilla, Sonsón, Abejorral and Jardín), 2.000 in Tolima and 420 hectáreas in Cauca.
Colombia takes the fourth place in avocado production with 18,744 hectares harvested, for a production of 200,000 tons (6% of the world production). Mexico is in first place with 106,000 hectares, Indonesia seconds with 50,000 and the United States in third with 27,000.
Source: El Colombiano