Athena Foods Opens Beef Processing Plant in Bucaramanga

The Colombian government announced this Thursday that Athena Foods, a subsidiary of Minerva S.A. and a leader in beef exports from South America, inaugurated its new beef processing plant in Bucaramanga (Santander) with an investment of approximately $100 billion COP.

During the announcement, Colombian President Iván Duque emphasized that this investment “will create jobs and bring significant export potential.” He further noted: “It also sends a message that Colombia is making a great difference in the value-added chain regarding meat exports. This investment will position Colombia at the forefront of cutting-edge technology, driven by the inspiration to continue reaching new markets.”

In this context, he stated that over the last 26 months of his administration, markets such as Chile, various Asian nations, and the Persian Gulf have opened. “We are moving forward with the goal of entering the South Korean market, as well as the People’s Republic of China, and, of course, the North American market,” he added. “These types of investments, which demonstrate confidence in Colombia, motivate us to reach new markets with even greater ambition and will represent the strategic positioning of our agricultural sector,” he asserted.

In turn, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Rodolfo Zea, stated that this investment “will generate more than 1,000 jobs and assist in the economic recovery.” He added: “It will allow us to continue on this path of exporting agricultural products and potentially break the agricultural export record again this year, as we did last year.”

The Minister also reminded that the ongoing work to open new markets has been carried out in coordination with the Ministry of Commerce, Industry, and Tourism; ProColombia; various embassies; and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. So far in 2020, Colombia’s beef exports have exceeded 17,000 tons, representing an increase of more than 50% compared to the same period in 2019.