After years of negotiations Colombian avocados have been granted access to the US market. The announcement was made by US vice president Mike Pence during a visit to the South American country for a bilateral trade meeting with president Juan Manuel Santos.
In a statement published on the Colombian Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism website on 13 August, Pence said: “today I announced that the US has reached an agreement for Colombia’s Hass avocados to enter the US market”.
However, the US Department of Agriculture had yet to publish any confirmation of this on its website as of that date.
According to the statement, Colombia's avocado exports increased from US$171,000 in 2011 to more than US$35m in 2016 and exports could double as a result of the opening of the US market.
