Colombian avocados have started gaining a foothold in the international market, particularly in the United States, where the opportunities opened up after the recent visit of President Juan Manuel Santos to the White House.
According to ProColombia, a promotion agency attached to the Ministry of Foreign Trade, this country has various production areas, with different altitudes and varieties, which makes it possible to supply avocados all year round.
Colombia has an approximate avocado production totalling 283 thousand 273 tonnes, with 10 different varieties grown on about 8 thousand hectares.
According to the Ministry of Agriculture, the main producing areas are the Atlantic Coast, specifically the Departments of Cesar, Guajira and Bolivar; Tolima, Antioquia, Caldas, Huila, Risaralda and Valle.
In Colombia, Persea americana avocados are cultivated between 300 and 2,500 metres above sea level, where 1,200 millimetres of rainfall are recorded yearly.
The avocado varieties grown in Colombia are:
- Papelillo, which has an elongated shape, light green colour, smooth shell, with a ripening time of up to five days, an average weight of 452 grams and a medium-sized seed.
- Hass, a favourite in the United States market, with an elongated shape, green to purple colour, a rough shell, an average weight of 150 to 400 grams and a small to medium seed.
- Other varieties are the Choquette, Santana and Trinidad.
Colombian authorities are working with the CBI of the Netherlands, Corpohass and the National Exporters Association (Analdex) to improve the "production processes and move forward in the promotion of Colombian avocados as some of the best in the world."
According to ProColombia, local producers have great opportunities to become major suppliers in the coveted US market.
The US market "is a major market that buys almost 970,000 tonnes of avocados per year and which has seen its per capita consumption double in just 10 years, reaching six pounds. That is why inter-institutional work is underway to gain access this year. We are already in the final stretch of the health admissibility process," pointed out ProColombia.
Official figures reveal that Colombia started exporting avocados in 2010, with $ 7,325 worth of shipments to the Netherlands. In 2016, exports totalled $35 million 40 thousand 227, with shipments to the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Spain, France, Germany, Belgium, Costa Rica, Panama, Peru, Italy and Canada.
The European Union is the main destination for Colombian avocado exports. Before the trade agreement came into force in 2013, Colombian exports to that market were worth $254,521 and went only to the Netherlands.
From 2013 to 2016, the figure increased to over 49.3 million dollars, reaching the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Spain, France, Germany, Belgium and Italy. The Colombian product enters with zero tariffs.
The value of fresh or dried avocados went from 10.2 million dollars (FOB value) in 2015 to 35 million dollars at the end of 2016.
Source: Notimex
