This year, Colombia's Hass avocado season begins under challenging conditions, with cooler, wetter weather slowing dry matter growth. Luis Carlos Maya, operations manager at Westfalia Fruit Group Colombia, notes that dry matter content remains at 23%-24%, indicating the season has just begun. Despite the delay, the avocados are larger than expected, which is a good sign given the high global demand.
© Westfalia Fruit International Limited
"Colombia exports approximately 150 shipments per week, but only five go to the United States. The strong market presence of Mexican avocados in the U.S. has temporarily diverted Colombian exports to Europe, where most shipments are focused. Additionally, year-end labor shortages and reduced interest among producers in starting new harvests have reduced stock levels. As a result, we expect more fruit from January to March as stored crops are released to the market," he said.
Westfalia Colombia is following the same trend, operating at 30% below expected volume. However, the group plans a structural increase in its supply: this year, it added 150 new hectares in Caicedonia, Valle del Cauca, and expects to reach 1,000 hectares of its own within the next three years. "Colombia's global market share grows at about 30% annually. This year, however, we expect it to grow slightly below that mark due to market conditions," Maya stated.
© Westfalia Fruit International Limited
The sector has increasingly focused on improving fruit quality with better post-harvest traits. "We have launched over 20 internal initiatives to enhance quality, such as new metrics for residence times, nutritional analysis per batch (calcium-nitrogen ratio), and packing process adjustments. Additionally, the industry is advancing in collaborative research through CorpoHass, especially after the removal of the prochloraz fungicide, which has led to the search for less effective alternatives to control anthracnose," he explained.
The company installed the Tomra Spectrum system, which captures more than 150 images per fruit to improve classification accuracy and identify process inconsistencies. It also established a unique private phytopathology laboratory, the only one of its kind in the country, dedicated to studying avocado pathogens.
© Westfalia Fruit International Limited
"In November, we faced one of the year's most complex commercial situations. Demand in Europe was weak due to leftover inventories from Peru and ample supply from Chile. Prices declined compared to previous years, although there was some recovery in large sizes during the last week," he added.
Transport costs remain a significant challenge for the industry. "The upcoming operation of Puerto Antioquia, located near the main production zone, could reduce the distance to the port by up to 40%, lowering freight costs and logistics time. However, it is not yet operational for avocados," he concluded.
© Westfalia Fruit International Limited For more information:
Luis Carlos Maya
Westfalia Fruit Group
Colombia
Tel.: +57 311 262 7577
Email: [email protected]
www.westfaliafruit.com
