According to the Hass Avocado Producers and Exporters Corporation of Colombia, Corpohass, Hass avocado has positioned itself as the fifth agricultural export product in the country, only behind coffee, bananas, flowers, and oil palm.
Exports of this fruit went from 10 million dollars in 2015 to 63 million in 2018. In addition, according to the National Administrative Department of Statistics (DANE), from January to November 2019, exports amounted to nearly 83 million dollars, i.e. 42% higher than in the same period of 2018. In volume, exports increased by 48% going from 27,800 to 41,300 tons in that period.
The European Union is the main destination of this product, accounting for 89% of all Colombian Hass avocado exports. The main markets there were the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Spain, and Belgium.
“It is important to highlight that the United States, a market that opened in August 2017, already represents 5% of fruit exports and has a high potential for short-term growth as the standards to export there decreased in the second half of last year,” said Jorge Restrepo, the executive director of Corpohass.
Domestic producers and exporters have high hopes of arriving this year to new destinations such as Japan and China. These two markets were opened in the last months of 2019 and the county might achieve a protocol to export to South Korea, as negotiations between the health authorities of both countries are well advanced.
The sector expects to produce 65,000 tons of Hass avocado this year and to market them for nearly 120 million dollars. “The Hass avocado is a very young industry, but there already are nearly 25,000 hectares planted with this product in the country and we expect to reach 30,000 hectares in less than a year and a half. Today, the sector generates about 40,000 direct jobs and 50,000 more in the harvest,” said Pedro Aguilar, general manager of Westfalia Fruit.
Source: agronegocios.co