Colombia is aiming to commence exports of Hass avocados to the US next year, according to the country's Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Francisco Estupiñán Heredia.
Despite a direct clash with the Mexican avocado season, shipments from Colombia could begin in the first half of 2014, provided that new phytosanitary requirements are met.
To that end, a new GlobalGAP-certified packhouse for avocados and lemons was officially opened in Zarzal, to the west of Bogota, at the end of last week.
Colombia's avocado export business has taken a number of major steps forward in the past few months, most notably with the establishment of CorpoHass, a national body tasked with coordinating efforts to gain access to the US market.
Speaking exclusively in Americafruit's Trade Latin America supplement this month, executive director Andrés Mejía Hernández confirmed that shipments could get underway as early as the first half of 2014.
'It depends on how quickly we can implement a suitable system for monitoring pest-free zones, a task which is being undertaken by CorpoHass in collaboration with the Colombian Institute of Agriculture (ICA),' he explained.
Joint effort
Bringing together 60 growers and exporters, CorpoHass represents around 70 per cent of national Hass output, roughly equivalent to 22,000 tonnes annually.
With 8,880ha of avocado production, Colombia currently ranks fifth in terms of production according to the US Food and Agriculture Organisation. But until now, it has only exported a tiny fraction of its output.
The peak production season clashes with that of Mexico, the world’s largest avocado producer, and Mejía was aware that Colombian exporters would have their work cut out to supply the US and other markets competitively.
'We're aiming to compete through higher yields per hectare, lower production costs and by cultivating niche specialist markets,' he said. 'Shipping to the east coast of the US from Colombia’s Caribbean ports, for example, would enable us to competitive logistically.'
In addition to cracking the US, the industry is focused on boosting its fledgling export programme to the European market. In 2012/13, Colombia shipped 132,000 4kg cartons to Europe and this is forecast to rise to 633,000 cartons in 2013/14.
