In the area of International Trade and with the aim of revitalizing the country's economy, Colombia has sought new forms and products to export worldwide, awakening great interest from other countries in the products generated in their national sectors.
Among the products with the greatest demand are those of agricultural production, due to the wide natural diversity and biomes that the Colombian territory has, something that is not found in other nations in the world.
Faced with this situation, the country has taken advantage of economic opportunities to export products such as Tahitian Lemon, he Hass avocado and the bananas, which have represented 93% of the sector's external sales during the year 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% to its total sales to the international market.
Furthermore, according to the report presented by Analdex, the fruit exports have maintained a positive trend. In 2022, external sales of these products reached US$1,476 million, which represents a growth of 4.7% compared to the previous year, according to data from the National Administrative Department of Statistics (DANE). Javier Molina, executive president of Analdex, expressed at the time: “Colombia's fresh fruit export basket has great potential to continue captivating international diners, thanks to its quality and the possibility of having several harvests throughout the year. . We must work together, between the public and private sectors, to open more doors to markets abroad, through phytosanitary admissibility and sustainability. Beyond Hass bananas and avocados, we must consolidate more agro-export stars that help diversify our international offer.”
In this sense, the country has achieved a new milestone by announcing the export of six tons of sweet mango from the Magdalena to the American city of Dallas, and later to California, Miami, New York and Washington DC. This represents one of the first occasions in which mangoes are exported to these territories.
This management was carried out by the Colfrutta company in collaboration with an American company from Miami, Florida, as explained by its Export Director, Antonio Acosta Jarma: “When talking about colombian mango, people think about sugar mango. We have made it the benchmark abroad. Although there are many types of this fruit, this is the one that has made Colombia recognized as a supplier throughout the world, and it is thanks to the international market that it became 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 think that the special ones, such as sugar, are what Colombia should focus on, since in terms of the most common varieties of red mango it will be difficult to compete with Mexico, Peru, Ecuador and Brazil, unless better times are chosen to cultivation and harvesting, as well as larger plantations using hot water treatment facilities.”
