The Colombian Country Profile
After a two-year COVID induced delay on our Colombia Country Profile, our partners at CIRAD finally got into Colombia in spring of 2022 to look at the burgeoning industry and talk to the major in-country participants in what is coming next.
What they saw were the early stages of another major producer for the international avocado trade coming into its own. Still unknown on the international stage in 2010, Colombia has in the space of less than fifteen years become one of the world’s top five Hass avocado exporters, with volumes more than 100,000 t, or over 220 million pounds in both 2020-21 and 2021-22. The country has attracted many national and international investors since the latter half of the 2010’s, thanks to powerful draw factors, such as a large reserve of underdeveloped land, at inexpensive pricing, until a recent rise in land values, a good production potential without the need for irrigation, a wide trading calendar and an ideal position to serve both the big global markets.
Having established the Colombian Avocado Board in 2019, the importer association has quickly joined the other associations in a collective effort to work together to build and create demand in the U.S. marketplace. CAB and its partner organization for exporters out of Colombia, CorpoHass, have focused primarily on retail sales in the market and have a keen eye on sustainability and the potential impact it will have on our producers in the coming years. They are attempting to position themselves as a high-quality year-round supplier to the U.S, and a trusted partner to the industry in the collaborative work of HAB. They can potentially ship efficiently to both U.S. coasts and have almost year-round production capability toward that effort.
The growth in country is not without its challenges, including infrastructure needs, a huge annual rainfall allotment in the growing regions, and finding it’s place in the markets it ships its fruit too. But it has a professionalism, a clear vision of what it is trying to accomplish, and a group of committed companies and associations who are working hard every day to establish itself as a major player in the international avocado scene.
Please read the full report and learn all about the next BIG player in the avocado trade and what we believe will happen for this new and exciting partner and what they will bring to the table in the years to come.
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