Historic Milestone: Colombia Exports Six Tons of Sugar Mangoes to the United States for the First Time

In the field of international trade and with the aim of revitalizing the country’s economy, Colombia has sought new ways and products to export globally, sparking significant interest from other nations in products generated within its domestic sectors. Among the products in highest demand are those from agricultural production, due to the wide natural diversity and biomes found within Colombian territory—a characteristic not present in many other nations around the world. Given this situation, the country has capitalized on economic opportunities to export products such as Tahiti limes, Hass avocados, and bananas, which represented 93% of the sector’s foreign sales in 2022, according to the National Association of Foreign Trade (Analdex). Exports of all fresh fruits have a significant impact on the non-mining energy sector, contributing 7% of its total sales to the international market.

Furthermore, according to the report presented by Analdex, fruit exports have maintained a positive trend. In 2022, foreign sales of these products reached $1.476 billion, representing a 4.7% growth compared to the previous year, according to data from the National Administrative Department of Statistics (DANE). Javier Molina, executive president of Analdex, stated at the time: “Colombia’s fresh fruit export basket has great potential to continue captivating international consumers, thanks to its quality and the possibility of having several harvests throughout the year. We must work in an articulated manner between the public and private sectors to open more doors in overseas markets through phytosanitary admissibility and sustainability. Beyond bananas and Hass avocados, we must consolidate more agro-export stars to help diversify our international offering.”

In this sense, the country has achieved a new milestone by announcing the export of six tons of sugar mangoes from the Magdalena department bound for the American city of Dallas, and subsequently to California, Miami, New York, and Washington D.C. This represents one of the first occasions in which an export of mangoes to these territories has been carried out. This effort was conducted by the company Colfrutta in collaboration with a U.S. firm in Miami, Florida, as explained by its Export Director, Antonio Acosta Jarma: “When people talk about Colombian mangoes, they think of the sugar mango. We have made it the benchmark abroad. While there are many types of this fruit, this is the one that has allowed Colombia to be recognized as a supplier worldwide, and it is thanks to the international market that it has become profitable to produce it.”

On the other hand, Nick Bernal highlighted the importance of this shipment for the United States: “Colombian mangoes have a very good opportunity to integrate into the mango supply network in the United States. I believe that specialty varieties, such as the sugar mango, are where Colombia should focus, since it will be difficult to compete with Mexico, Peru, Ecuador, and Brazil in terms of more common red mango varieties, unless better times for cultivation and harvesting are chosen, as well as larger plantations utilizing hot water treatment facilities.”